Labour pains
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I watched with relish, from the kitchen window, just as Aldoris, the choon-paan karaya, stopped at the gate. I was hankering for a ‘maalu paan’ and this time Aldoris was singing a different tune – meaning playing a new song on his battered loudspeaker. It was the newest creation by the legendary Gypsies and the song – Kasade (marriage) – with its catchy tune has become another hit for the band. Tune in to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRcVnNUVLXQ to listen to the song.As I picked up a ‘maalu paan’ and a mug of tea, the phone rang. It was Arthika, my nonsensical economist friend also known as good-for-nothing Somey, calling on this Thursday morning. “I read a news item where the trade unions are expressing disappointment over the upcoming labour law reforms,” he said.
“Indeed they are. One must also understand that labour laws protect workers if employers resort to firing workers without due cause,” I said. “But how can you grow the economy and attract local and foreign investment if the rules pertaining to dismissing workers (if they are not working according to the rules of the company or forced closure due to a collapse in the business) are rigid?” he asked. “Well, the best course of action is for labour laws to strike a delicate balance between the interests of employers and protecting the rights of workers,” I said.
One of the biggest challenges for the labour-friendly National People’s Power (NPP) government is ensuring workers and employers get equal treatment. Workers’ rights were at the core of their election campaign with labour rights activists like Wasantha Samarasinghe and K.D. Lalkantha in their midst. It remains to be seen on whose side – workers or employers – these two activists, now Cabinet ministers, would be as the government works on new labour legislation, preparations of which began under the previous Ranil Wickremesinghe administration.
In the meantime, the unions are flexing their muscles over another issue – the non-implementation of the Termination of Employment Act in the confines of the exclusive Colombo Port City which, under new rules, will permit hire-and-fire strategies for certain, select investments. The Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU) said in a statement this week that almost all tax bills have been repealed with the aim of encouraging and providing concessions to Chinese investors in the Port City and the only law that provided job security to workers in this country, the Termination of Employment Act, has also been repealed (in its operation in the City) and gazette notifications signed by the President have been published.
Unions are also planning to file action in courts, contesting the right of the government to cancel the operation of the Termination of Employment Act in the Port City saying that according to an earlier Supreme Court decision, on this issue, the court had then decreed that only certain provisions of the Act can be exempt from the operations of the Port City but not full termination of the Act. The provision in question is Section 53 of the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act No. 11 of 2021 where it states that upon a business being so identified as a Business of Strategic Importance, the Commission shall make recommendations to the President or in the event that the subject of the Port City is assigned to a Minister, to such Minister relating to the designation of such business as a Business of Strategic Importance and the grant of any exemptions or incentives in terms of section 52 of this Act.
Unions argue that the authorities, whenever required, declare a proposed foreign or local investment as ‘Strategic Importance’ and what follows is that the business is exempt from a set of laws that govern the rest of Sri Lanka, including the Termination of Employment Act. Workers can be freely dismissed without any recourse to a legal remedy in the case of businesses of ‘Strategic Importance’. The unions got agitated after a series of Gazette notifications in July, exempting some investments in the Port City from the Termination of Employment Act, saying the authorities cannot have two sets of laws in Sri Lanka pertaining to termination of employment.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has strict rules pertaining to sacking workers. Under the ILO’s C158 – Termination of Employment Convention, 1982, there are particular guidelines when terminating workers. It says when the employer contemplates terminations for reasons of an economic, technological, structural or similar nature, the employer shall provide the workers’ representatives (often a union) with relevant information including the reasons for the terminations contemplated; and that such a measure is done in accordance with national law and practice.
The CMU statement said the government has announced that steps have been taken to review and submit recommendations to a committee appointed by the current government on the Single Labour Law draft prepared by the previous government. “It should be noted here that the Labour Law Reforms prepared by the previous government repealed 13 major laws and Acts that had existed for many years to protect workers in the country and give legal force to the letter of appointment exchanged between the employee and the employer at the workplace level under the name of a single law,” it said, expressing concern that the new legislation would enable more flexible hire-and-fire policies. The government, it appears, is looking at the legislation pertaining to discontinuing workers, particularly in the case where a business is forced to close for some reason or other.
At this point, I walked into the kitchen for a second mug of tea and happened to overhear the conversation of the trio under the margosa tree. “Aiyo, than viruddha pakshey deshapalana kattiyawa saha aanduwe niladharinwa ath adanguwata gannawa allas chodana uda (Aiyo, more and more opposition politicians and state officials are being arrested on bribery and fraud charges),” said Kussi Amma Sera. “Deshapalana paliganeemak nemei kiyala mama balaporoththu wenawa (I hope this is not political vengeance),” noted Serapina. “Varadak karala thiyenawa nam neethiya kriyathmaka wenna oney (Well, if they have committed an offence, the law should apply),” countered Mabel Rasthiyadu.
Winding up, my hope for the day is that the authorities strike a balance of interests between the rights of workers and the rights of employers in crafting the new labour laws. Phew…..….. not an easy task!
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