|
Launch of National Framework on Social Dialogue:
Towards decent work for everyone
Anjalie Garnier
****-------
The launch and signing of the National Framework on Social Dialogue
will boost labour culture in Sri Lanka which is based on recognizing
human dignity and reappraising human work. This is an expression of the
commitment of the tripartite constituents in the promotion of social
dialogue. Government employers and employees and union leaders have all
been brought together inspite of their divergence views and opinions.
*------------
As the (ILO) International Labour Organization has made social
dialogue a key component of its Decent Work Agenda, launching the
National Framework on Social Dialogue for the promotion of social
dialogue, is a fitting way to celebrate the 90 th anniversary of the ILO,
said Lbour Relations and Manpower Minister Athauda Seneviratne at the
sighning ceremony held recently.
There are a series of events to mark the 90th anniversary of the ILO.
The main event was held at the Presidential Secretariat under the aegis
of the President. The theme of the ILO 90th Anniversary celebrations is
Social Dialogue on decent Work for fair globalization.
Role of ILO in brief
|
The ILO is
the oldest specialized agency of the United Nations and the only
surviving major creation of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. This
year, the ILO and its members celebrate the 90 th anniversary.
The ILO was formed exactly in response to soicial unrest and
disputes in the early 20th Century for the world to have an
international body which could provide guidance and set
standards for workers and employers facilitating them to reach
agreement on the basic rule of the game in the workplaces.
The ILO has helped to establish the 8 hour working day as a norm
in many countries. The first International Standard on Maternity
Protection(1919) established the priciple that workers should
have one day off per week. Recently established the idea of
Decent Work; puts a human face on employment issues and shows
that for sustainable development work should be about quality as
well as quantity.
The building blocks of the Decent Work Agenda are; employment
ceation - including green jobs - through sustainable
enterprises; solidarity in the form of social protection;
upholding standards and fundamental priciples and rights at
work; and harnessing the creative power of dialogue and
collective bargaining to find the best solutions.
These are the conditions that will be enable women and men to
obtain work in conditions of freedom, dignity, security and
equity - in times of crsis, in recovery and beyond. |
“During the last 90 years, despite great changes around us which are
transforming in so many ways our jobs and labour-management relations
remains unchanged.
We all seek a fair opportunity to prosper in life through our own
efforts and to be useful to ourselves, to our families and the society.
Social dialogue among the social partners is the ideal way to deal with
the entire issue of human work, especially in creating sufficient decent
and well paid jobs.
Widespread and efficient social dialogue is a clear sign of a
nation’s level of democracy.” Decisive cooperation amongst the social
partners is of more strategic importance to reflect on the best paths
towards personal, family and social integration at the workplace, as our
societies require solid foundations.
Under gobalization the world is a place where competition is intense.
Therefor we cannot escape from the global recession. National labour
markets face common challenges created by globalization dynamics.
The challenges in productive process make it necessary to design new
and more efficient strategies for promotion of cooperation among the
social partners.
Minister Seneviratne citing the local labour disputes is in the
opinion that one of the main causes for major industrial disputes is
non-recognition of trade unions. “If we closely examine the causes for
non recognition, in most instances, it is due to the failure of mutual
respect of social partners.”
We need to promote a culture based on recognizing human dignity and
reappraising human work. Thus it establishes clearly the need to create
an environment of dialogue and agreement among the management and
workers at all levels. This helps to solve the problems on fair grounds
where dialogue and participation in decision making could be considered
as the characteristics of labour relations.
“I am convinced that systematic coorperation and dialogue between
labour and management is the best antidote against personal interests,
exclusion, exploitation and erosion of values which are at the core of
industrial peace,” said Minister Seneviratne.
He also said the Department of Labour has taken necessary steps to
promote social dialogue at the grass root level. In this context,
Provincial Labour Advisory Councils have a major role to play.
The social dialogue division which has been set up under the
Department of Labour re-engineering program is promoting social dialogue
at enterprise level with the asistance of the district labour offices.
The National Frame Work on Social dialogue could be used as the tool of
promotion of social dialogue and tripartism at all levels.
Secretary, Ministry of Labour Relations and Manpower Mahinda
Madihahewa, Director ILO Tine Staermose, Senior Specialist - Social
Dialogue and Labour Administration ILO-SRO, New Delhi Marleen Rueda,
Senior Assistant Secretary-Foreign Relations Ministry of Labour
Relations and Manpower Upali Athukorala, Director General, Employers
Federation of Ceylon Ravi Peiris, General Secretary, Sri Lanka Nidahas
Sevaka Samgamaya Leslie Devendra, Senior Specialist - Employers
Activities, ILO-SRO, New Delhi Gotabaya Dassanayaka also participated at
the event. |
