Sri Lanka: Labour reforms threaten to worsen the situation of the working classes -Joint Statement by 106 Academics

Image: Leader of the Ceylon Teachers Union, Joseph Stalin at a protest.

Sri Lanka is in the middle of a dire economic crisis. We are witness to the new depths of misery that the people have been plunged into. Working people are the hardest hit, who have had to grapple with precarious wages, job insecurity and the devastation of an economic depression.

The message is loud and clear, when labour Minister prefaces his presentation with, “We still have archaic labour laws, a labour law which turns away investors.”

Despite this perilous situation, the government is proposing labour reforms that threaten to render the situation of the working classes even more precarious. In his Budget 2023 speech in November 2022, the President called for reforms “for an export-oriented economy”. Soon thereafter, Secretary to the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment Shan Yahampath elaborated on the impending proposals, pointing to the introduction of “a unified labour code which will seek to move away from the current employee-friendly labour law system to a system that strikes a balance between the rights of the employee and the employer.”

Labour Minister stressed the importance of casual labour and the need to turn much of formal labour into casual labour.

At the May Day rally of the UNP, Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara presented a 11-point reform agenda, outlining the principles of the reforms, which proposes to tilt the balance of power further in favour of employers. Nanayakkara’s proposals, the most elaborate so far, is at best sketchy, and at worst is a calculated move to weaken the collective strength of the working population in the formal sector. The message is loud and clear, when Mr. Nanayakkara prefaces his presentation with, “We still have archaic labour laws, a labour law which turns away investors.”

On June 14th, at a consultative meeting, Mr. Nanayakkara, reiterated the need for reforms, necessary, in his view, in some 20-odd areas of existing labour-law. While saying that reforms are needed in the plantation sector and in the provisions of EPF and ETF, he stresses the importance of casual labour and the need to turn much of formal labour into casual labour.

Herein lie the dangers of the current reforms.

The proposals are in part framed in the language of social protection, advancing the rights of the worker in the informal sector. Protection from violence in the workplace for women and incorporating people with disabilities in the labour force mean little when the overall climate is steeped in job insecurity and economic precarity. Further, the mantra of increasing women’s participation in the labour force is designed to be extractive of the labour of women in the face of diminishing worker-protection.

Weakening the contractual bonds between worker and management leads to casualisation, greater job insecurity and greater exploitation of the worker. Laws surrounding hiring and termination need to be clear and protect the worker from precarity.

Sri Lanka’s labour laws, though nothing to marvel at, have historically afforded the worker some protection from the blatant disregard of their rights. Yet, through fragmentation of the labour force, outsourcing and casualizing of formal contractual labour, and other disempowering measures, industrial management has been able to get around these laws.

The bulk of our work force in the formal sector is composed of women. Vulnerable at the best of times to the vicissitudes of management practices, they had been one of the first casualties of economic crises. During the COVID pandemic we saw how vulnerable our workers were to shifting trends of the economy, locally and internationally. Labour laws were flouted; workers were both left stranded and deemed outcast. At the same time, they were compelled through coercive consent, to work under trying conditions. This scenario will be formalized through the proposed reforms. The threat is imminent.

Weakening the contractual bonds between worker and management leads to casualisation, greater job insecurity and greater exploitation of the worker. Laws surrounding hiring and termination need to be clear and protect the worker from precarity. At the moment, we have termination laws that do protect the worker. Relaxing them would pose a dire threat to the worker’s well-being.

There is also talk of flexible working hours. This is most detrimental to the worker, who under pressure, will be trapped in a complex cycle of coercive and extractive labour within the casualization of their work; there will be little protection from working hours. Legal provisions for sick leave, maternity leave and stipulated periods of rest and leisure that the worker is entitled to will be eroded into. We know that while more than 10 days’ night work for women is not allowed at garment factories, in practice women are engaged in long hours of night work, with few safety measures in place.

The proposed reforms are designed to formalize the progressive weakening of labour laws and further disempower the worker through taking away whatever protection that is in place now. It is telling that when a meeting of the National Labour Advisory Council, which is composed of representatives of the state, the employers and trade union representatives of the workers, was called last month, four unions representing workers in the private sector and not affiliated to any political parties were left out of the composition. This is a clear indication of how the government is setting the stage for weakening the representative bodies of the workers, and thereby render them totally powerless, when reforms are initiated.

Malaiyaha worker

The economy of the plantations is on the cusp of change and the Malaiyaha worker is staring into a future of fragmentation of community, job insecurity, and lack of land. They have been long fighting for a living wage, and basic citizenship, namely, decent living conditions, safety at work, the right to land, decent housing and accessible schooling. Nanayakkaras 11-point proposals say that the government proposes to create “a plantation worker fit for the modern world of work,” ignoring the current state of gross injustice meted out to the worker in the plantation sector.

The economy is in a state of continued collapse, because of austerity, lack of job creation policies, and inadequate social protection and relief to the working people. In the end, we will be left with an irrevocable undermining of the worker’s Rights.

By undermining labour-laws the government hopes to attract investment and boost the economy. It is a road show put on for the sake of potential investors. But the regime is sadly out of touch with economic realities. There is a global economic recession. Our economy shrunk by 12.4% and by 11.5%, in the last quarter of 2022 and first quarter of 2023 respectively. As they stand, labour laws are not the cause of the economic crisis, and reforming them is not the solution. Rather, the economy is in a state of continued collapse, because of austerity, lack of job creation policies, and inadequate social protection and relief to the working people. In the end, we will be left with an irrevocable undermining of the worker’s Rights.

As academics, we are obliged to adopt an informed position on something as fundamental as labour relations. It affects us all. An informed, worker-oriented and people-oriented labour policy, a policy that provides security to all, and a policy that ensures stability and democratic practice in production and in the workplace is the need of the hour. Else, we would be looking to a future of suffering and instability. The already authoritarian government can only become more authoritarian in the face of imminent social unrest. We must join the forces of democracy to build a better future for all.

SIGNED BY

1. M. Navaratna Bandara, formerly Univ. of Peradeniya
2. Ahilan Kadirgamar, of Jaffna
3. M.J.H. Amandakoon, Univ. of Peradeniya
4. Amalka Wijesuriya, of Ruhuna
5. Anuruddha Karunarathna, of Peradeniya
6. Anushka Kahandagama, formerly of Colombo
7. Arjuna Aluwihare, formerly of Peradeniya
8. Arjuna Parakrama, of Peradeniya
9. Aruni Samarakoon, of Ruhuna
10. Athulasiri Samarkoon, The Open University of Sri Lanka
11. Avanka Fernando, of Colombo
12. P.B.W. Rathnayake, Univ. of Peradeniya
13. Barana Jayawardana, of Peradeniya
14. Bahirathy R, Univ. of Jaffna
15. Buddhima Padmasiri, The Open University of Sri Lanka
16. Camena Guneratne, The Open University of Sri Lanka
17. Chirath Jeewantha, of Ruhuna
18. Chulani Kodikara formely of Colombo
19. Crystal Baines, of Peradeniya
20. Dayapala Thiranagma, formerly of Kelaniya
21. Dhammika Gamage, of Peradeniya
22. Dhammika Herath, of Peradeniya
23. Dhammika Jayawardena of Sri Jayawardenepura
24. Dhanuka Bandara formerly Of Peradeniya
25. Dilini Hemachandra, of Peradeniya
26. Dinesha Samararatne of Colombo
27. Erandika de Silva, of Jaffna
28. Farzana Haniffa, of Colombo

29. Fazeeha Azmi, Univ of Peradeniya
30. Ganganee Chamdima Samaraweera, of Ruhuna
31. H.M.T.V.K. Jayasooriya, Univ. of Peradeniya
32. Harshana Rambukwella, formerly The Open University of Sri Lanka
33. Hasini Lecamwasam, of Peradeniya
34. Hasitha Pathirana of Kelaniya
35. Hettigamage Sriyananda, The Open University of Sri Lanka (Professor Emeritus)
36. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, of Sabaragamuwa
37. Imani Bakmeedeniya, of Peradeniya
38. Jayadeva Uyangoda, of Colombo (Professor Emeritus)
39. Janith Wickramasinghe, of Colombo
40. Jennifer Edama, of Peradeniya
41. Jithmi Athukorale, of Peradeniya
42. M.Vihangi Semini, Univ. of Peradeniya
43. Kamani Sylva, of Peradeniya
44. Kanchuka Dharmasiri, of Peradeniya
45. Kasun Gajasinghe, of Peradeniya
46. Kaushalya Perera, of Colombo
47. Kethakie Nagahawatte of Colombo
48. Krishan Siriwadhana, of Colombo
49. Krishantha Fedricks, Uni. of Colombo
50. Krishmi Apsara, of Peradeniya
51. Kumudu Kusum Kumara, formerly of Colombo
52. A.M.Jayasinghe,Univ. Of Peradeniya
53. Liyanage Amarakeerthi, Of Peradeniya
54. Madhara Karunarathna, of Peradeniya
55. Maduranga Kalugampitiya, of Peradeniya
56. Mahendran Thiruvarangan, of Jaffna
57. Malika Perera, of Peradeniya
58. A. Nuhman. Formerly Univ. of Peradeniya
59. Muditha Dharmasiri: of Peradeniya

60. Nadeesh de Silva, The Open University of Sri Lanka
61. Nalika Ranathunge, of Ruhuna
62. Neavis Morais, The Open University of Sri Lanka
63. Nicola Perera, of Colombo
64. Nilantha Liyanage, of Ruhuna
65. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri, of Colombo
66. Sivakaran, Univ. of Jaffna
67. W. Prins, Univ. of Ruhuna
68. Paba Suraweera, of Peradeniya
69. Pavithra Jayawardena, of Colombo
70. M. Jayaweera Univ. of Peradeniya
71. Prabha Manuratne, of Kelaniya
72. Prabhath Jayasinghe, University of Colombo
73. Pradeepa Korale Gedara, of Peradeniya
74. Pradeep Peiris, of Colombo
75. Priyantha Fonseka of Peradeniya
76. T.Gamalath, Univ. of Peradeniya
77. Ramesh Ramasamy, of Peradeniya
78. Ramila Usoof, of Peradeniya
79. Ramindu Perera, The Open University of Sri Lanka
80. Ramya Kumar, of Jaffna
81. Ranjini Obeyesekere; formerly , of Peradeniya
82. Ranjit Wijekoon, formerly of Peradeniya
83. Rupika Rajakaruna, of Peradeniya
84. Ruth Surenthiraraj, of Colombo
85. Sabreena Niles, of Kelaniya
86. Sachithra Edirisinghe, formerly of Peradeniya
87. Sahan Wanniarachchi,Univ. of Peradeniya
88. Sahani Situbandara, of Peradeniya
89. Saman Pushpakumara, of Peradeniya
90. Sasanka Perera, Formerly of Colombo

91. Sasinindu Patabendige, of Jaffna
92. Savitri Goonesekere, of Colombo (Professor Emeritus)
93. Selvaraj Vishvika, of Peradeniya
94. Shalini Wijerathna,Univ. of Peradeniya
95. Shamala Kumar, of Peradeniya
96. Sitralega Maunaguru formerly Eastern Sri Lanka
97. Sivamohan Sumathy, of Peradeniya
98. Sudesh Mantillake, of Peradeniya
99. Sumith Chaaminda, of Colombo
100. Supoorna Kulatunga, of Peradeniya
101. Suranjith Gunasekara, of Ruhuna
102. Susantha Rasnayake, of Peradeniya
103. Susith Siriwardhana, Rajarata of Sri Lanka
104. Shyamani Hettiarachchi, of Kelaniya
105. Thiru Kandiah, formerly of Peradeniya
106. Thushara Kamalrathne, Univ of Peradeniya
107. Udara Rajapaksha, of Peradeniya
108. Udari Abeysinghe, of Peradeniya
109. Unnathi Samaraweera,Univ. of Colombo
110. Upul Abeyrathne, of Peradeniya
111. Varangana Ratwatta, of Peradeniya
112. Vijaya Kumar, of Peradeniya (Professor Emeritus)
113. Visakesa Chandrasekaram, of Colombo
114. Vivimarie Vanderpoorten Medawattegedera, The Open University of Sri Lanka
115. M. Rohan Laksiri, Univ. of Ruhuna
116. Yasas Kulasekara, of Peradeniya