• Manusha also moots Nat. Wage Council, reforms to flexi/part-time/night/OT/home/trainee/apprentice work, workplace violence prevention and health/safety, and regulating foreign workers

Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara yesterday (14) said that the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment has paid special attention to the preparation of legal provisions to establish a paternity leave system for the first time in Sri Lanka in order to change the prevailing labour laws which do not suit the modern world.

Presenting a summary of the proposals that have been presented regarding the amendment of labour laws to the public, he said that the existing inequalities in the Wages Boards Ordinance and the Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act will be removed and the new amendments will be made in order to treat everyone equally in order to prevent harassment in the workplace and all forms of sexual violence.  He also said that the Government will introduce laws to prevent discrimination in the workplace.

Additionally, laws will be brought to introduce a five-day work week and flexible working hours according to the employees’ wishes, he elaborated. “We have identified the need to bring legal provisions that provide opportunities to do part-time jobs. In addition to this, we are working to make arrangements to provide the necessary provisions for female employees to work at night while subject to certain conditions,” he said. He also said that he is working to introduce a uniform system regarding the amount of overtime (OT) work and the related payments to be made. “We are considering the possibility of introducing methods to streamline working from home”.

Moreover, legal provisions are to be brought to formalise foreign employees working in Sri Lanka. “Laws are being made to regulate it. Also, laws related to trainees and apprentices will be brought and correct interpretations regarding those laws will also be presented,” he said.

Speaking further, Nanayakkara also mentioned that special attention has been given to the preparation of legal provisions regarding paternity leave.

Nanayakkara emphasised that they are working to introduce a National Wage Council with the aim of introducing a minimum wage system according to current and accepted methods.

He also said that they are working to introduce a system in which employers are responsible for completing disciplinary proceedings related to unethical actions carried out by employees within a certain period of time. While stressing the need for strengthening legal provisions to ensure the safety and health of employees at the workplace, he said that they are working to prepare a system to provide compensation to employees who lose their jobs due to poor performance and when businesses are reorganised, and to make it faster and simpler. “It has been proposed to bring about laws to oblige the employer to deduct membership fees from the salary and send the union dues owing to unfair labour practices carried out by trade unions as is currently accepted by the law. It is also the intention to prepare a social security system that will provide maternity benefits, employee health and compensation in the case of unemployment through a social security fund,” he added.

He noted that it is necessary to create a broad social discourse regarding these labour laws by preparing a new labour law system based on the proposals gathered and by obtaining the Cabinet of Ministers’ approval for it until it is passed into law in Parliament through a formal judicial process.