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By Ravi Ladduwahetty

The Government will approve an amendment to the prevailing laws on overtime to enable female employees to work 60 hours per month, up from the prevailing 100 hours per annum.

The proposal is based on a Cabinet Memorandum presented last week by Labour and Employment Minister, Mahinda Samarasinghe. This proposal is expected to get the nod of the Government this week. The Draft Legislation will be presented in Parliament in May. The provision of 100 hours of overtime is an archaic and ridiculous provision and needs amendment. This provision is being violated and the Cabinet is expected to approve the increase on overtime hours at its meeting tomorrow, the Minister told the Daily News.

The Labour Minister said that there has been a lot of pressure from North American garment buyers who have virtually sounded the death knell for local manufacturers and exporters, claiming that they could not deal with Sri Lanka if the overtime laws were not amended. Sri Lanka's labour laws have to be in relation to practice, the garment buyers had told the Labour Minister.

It is for that reason that the Government has decided to increase the number of overtime hours to 60 for females in line with the prevailing systems in countries such as India, the Minister said. Responding to a question as to how women could be deployed for night duty on the basis of foreign investors advocating the theory that the Government would be giving females the option of working on the shift basis but were vulnerable, he assured there would be adequate safeguards.

When asked about employer sentiment about women being employed being a disincentive with the three-month maternity leave, the Minister said that there will be adequate safeguards as females are a vulnerable sector.

Pregnant women and those who have just come after maternity leave will be permitted to work on the shift basis on their written consent, according to the Minister.

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