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by Lionel Wijesiri

It is May Day again. Does May Day have any meaning anymore to the majority of Sri Lankans? Has it become just a lazy relaxed holiday? Jinadasa Medis, 69 years, and with over 45 years active trade union involvement says: " May Day has no meaning today. Most trade unions have become pawns of politicians. They are no more the guardians of the working people".

This attitude cuts across party lines. Most Sri Lankans are tired of the politically oriented extremist attitudes of trade unions. They wish they could view our trade unions as institutions, which are interested in workers' rights and not safeguarding political interests: trade unions, which are sensible, practical, and inspired by true justice. The frustration they feel is explained by both the failings of the unions to be flexible and open to change, and the failings of all the Governments since Independence to articulate any pro-working labour policy.

For many decades we have celebrated May Day, publicly honouring the dignity of labour and those who work. Our constitution upholds the dignity of human life and the rights of every individual to find fulfilment in legal aspirations.

Many times this reality was overlooked in our economic and social relationships. The sacredness and significance of individuals gave way to prejudice, exploitation, oppression, greed and injustices. So our Constitution's words seek to remind us of who we are and to whom we belong.

Worker' Rights

Workers' rights are human rights. In a global economy we can no longer think in terms of "we" and "them," but we must define values and rights in terms of "us." We cannot continue to gain economic advantage at the expense of others. We cannot continue to support industries that exploit child labour and women in sweatshops. We cannot allow economic gain and wealth for the few to destroy the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining and profit sharing.

In a rapidly changing world we must uphold the rights of individuals to form unions of their choosing, engage in good faith collective bargaining, earn living wages, receive adequate health care and have access to safe environments in which to work.

We must protect children from exploitation and provide opportunities for them to have a safe place in which to live and learn. Human rights require us to assure equal pay for equal work and to eliminate discrimination on the basis of age, sex, or ethnic differences.

These are concerns we must address in the coming years.

Many of our workers not only lack a decent wage, health care, and retirement benefits, but some live in wretched housing, contend with dangerous machinery, handle hazardous chemicals, and work long hours. These workers are especially vulnerable to exploitation.

The Government endorses the right of workers to form unions or other associations as a specific application of the human right to associate.

Workers, particularly manual workers, have the right to organize and bargain collectively to secure fair wages and working conditions. In the words of Pope John Paul II, "The experience of history teaches that organizations of this type are an indispensable element of social life, especially in modern societies."

Protection

Independent research reveals that thousands of our workers are excluded from labour laws meant to protect them organizing and bargaining rights, and their number is growing. Violations of workers' freedom of association are a strong but hidden undercurrent in our economy.

"I know the law gives us rights on paper, but where's the reality?" asks Sunimal, a factory mechanic unlawfully fired for leading a union organizing effort in 1996. He finally returned to work in 1999 but was fired again in 2001. His employer had a long memory.

When it comes to workers' right to form unions, loophole-ridden laws, paralysing delays and feeble enforcement have created a culture of impunity in many areas of our labour law and practice. Factory workers, domestic workers, low-level supervisors, security personnel and other categories of workers are denied labour law protection.

Too often, policy debates over our labour law and practice turn on whether they make it easier or harder for unions to organize workers, and whether that is good or bad for the economy. From this standpoint, workers' organizing efforts are just labour-management disputes over shares of the economic pie. But basic human rights such as freedom of association should not be linked to economic outcomes.

The Government should continue to press for workers' rights in trade and investment-but on a foundation of equality and humility, recognizing that workers in nearly all companies run risks when they try to form unions.

Responsibilities

But trade unions, like employers, have duties to the larger society. just as our legal Acts demand that employers treat their employees with dignity and respect, so it demands that unions be about more than just economic gain for their members. Workers also must contribute to the common good by seeking excellence in production and service.

While unions should defend the wages and benefits of their membership, they also have the obligation to empower workers to take an active role in the society and the larger community.

Workers must use their collective power to contribute to the well being of the whole community and should avoid pressing demands whose fulfilment would damage the common good and the rights of more vulnerable members of society.

Productivity

The stakes of the workers in improving productivity are becoming even higher with the changes happening in the global business. The economic growth resulting from increased productivity enables a country to better afford improved social services and protection.

And through processes that are materials and energy efficient and less waste generating, the environment is protected and resources conserved. Thus, through productivity improvement, ecological and social concerns can be met.

But workers are not just passive stakeholders in productivity. In addition to being stakeholders, they are also one of the key actors in the improvement of productivity. Through their actions, individually and collectively, they can influence the factors that determine the conditions conducive to total productivity improvement.

This brings to fore the new roles that our trade unions should play in productivity improvement in a changing global economic and business environment. As representatives of not just their formal memberships but of workers in general, they should play a significant and active role in creating the national economic and business environment that will make our country competitive in the global marketplace. All these new roles and functions are to be taken under the purview of the trade unions underlying objective of improving the workers' quality of work life, and of improving the quality of life of their families and of the society in general.

Social Values

Wilson Perera, a seasoned trade union leader, says: "Increasingly our economy is sending the message that it values accumulated wealth over honest work". He declares that workers are entitled to "economic citizenship" - which means "a voice in your job, your community and your country - a sense of recognition and respect for the work you do, the contribution you make and your inherent dignity as a worker".

"Economic citizenship", he says, "depends on a social contract joining business, labour, government and the ordinary citizen in a common commitment to economic security, social justice and human dignity".

"The social contract is being broken today", he laments, "and trade unions have an indispensable role in restoring it. Working Sri Lankans need a raise - not only in Rupees but in dignity. Wages are stagnating; jobs are disappearing and benefit packages dwindling". He says the loss to workers is more than economic- it involves "a loss of the sense of community and common purpose that defines our nation at its best".

He cites several major business trends of recent years as signs that in the current economy "working people and the work they do are being demeaned, not dignified: "I trace the demeaning of work in large measure to the decline of the labour movement, in quality and quantity both'' he said. "A vibrant labour movement plays an indispensable part in creating and maintaining the social contract that offer workers a measure of dignity, security and citizenship".

What should be our May Day resolution this year? Mohan Adihetti, university graduate, just gained employment as a factory supervisor says: "A prosperous country! A country where work and the riches it produces are shared equitably. A country where progress in technology and science brings progress in solving social and environmental problems. Where work ceases to be a daily grind and becomes a contribution, a passion, a chance to grow and excel.

A country where privilege-whether based on property, or money, or race, or political affiliation-is but a relic of a dim past. A country where coercion as social policy is unnecessary because everyone understands their interests are served by cooperation; where dog-eat-dog attitudes have faded along with becoming rich at another's expense".

"Let the cynics smirk and speak darkly about inherent Sri Lankan worker attitude. Such a future is not only possible but also essential. Everything points to it, most of all the fact that economic stability and ethnic harmony are becoming realities. We do not want a future with a system that produces billionaires alongside thousands of paupers: a system that must find new reasons to slash and burn the country with war: a system that is hell-bent on economic strangulation instead of economic development: a system that spends so much more on military forces than it does on learning and arts".

Mohan, aged 24, is tomorrow's decision maker. He also, like the rest of the young people, talks about his "sense of expectation" - the expectation that he will find his salvation out of the present chaos soon.

To Mohan's resolution, I want to add: "We also have to take this moment once again to hammer home to all our youth that violence is wrong - to show our youth by the power of our own example how to resolve conflicts peacefully. We must do more to reach out to our youth and teach them to express their anger and to resolve their conflicts with words, not weapons."

May Day should be more than a relaxed lazy holiday. It should be a time to review why many of our national leaders have stood with workers in their struggle for justice. Each of us has a responsibility to make this economy work for everyone: employers, workers, shareholders, union members, and consumers.

As followers of four great religions we are called to measure our economy, not only by what it produces, but how it touches human life, whether it protects human dignity and strengthens family life.

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