By Namini Wijedasa
The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) has called on the government to include representatives of business and employer interests in a committee of trade unionists proposed by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna to investigate and act on Sri Lankan labour laws which are not effectively implemented.

The organisation has also urged the government to follow-up on an undertaking to reform labour laws in Sri Lanka to enable flexibility in the market. This is in direct contravention to the JVP’s stand that additional labour laws must be introduced and the existing regulations rigidly imposed.

Many businessmen have already expressed concern about the "affair" between the JVP and the government, particularly on the grounds that the Marxist party has organised agitation campaigns earlier which have led to the closure of several companies.

The clause, contained in the Memorandum of Understanding signed last week between the JVP and the government, agrees to appoint a committee comprising representatives of leading trade unions to look into matters relating to International Labour Organisation Conventions that have been ratified by Sri Lanka and to submit recommendations for the preparation of draft legislation on such conventions.

The MoU also submits that the committee will look into "labour laws that are already in force in Sri Lanka but are not being effectively imposed."

"We have consistently made submissions to your ministry and also other state agencies, including the Ministry of Finance and National Planning under which the private sector development programme has been undertaken, to review our labour laws to ensure a more flexible labour market that will facilitate national economic growth and stability in the current economic environment," said EFC Director General Gotabaya Dassanayake in a letter to Labour Minister John Seneviratne.

"We are strongly of the view that it is important to pursue labour market reforms as already identified and that whatever committee if set up under the said MoU should necessarily be representative of employer and business interests also," Dassanayake point out. He says that ILO principles give paramount importance to tripartite consultation. He also urges the government to prioritise labour market reforms as outlined by employer organisations.