'Collective bargaining - a fundamental right'
Gayan Kanchana in Ahungalla
Collective bargaining is a fundamental right at the core of the ILO's
fundamental principles. Research has demonstrated that countries with
highly coordinated collective bargaining tend to have less inequality in
wages, lower and less persistent unemployment, and fewer and shorter
strikes than countries where collective bargaining is less established,
International Labour Organization (ILO) Sub regional office for South
Asia (New Delhi) Director Leyla Tegmo-Reddy said.
She was speaking at a tripartite meeting on 'Collective Bargaining
and Negotiating for Decent Work in the Age of Globalization in South
Asia and China.' The meeting organized by the ILO to celebrate its 60th
anniversary was held at Ahungalla yesterday.
Reddy said, "Collective bargaining has proven to be a useful tool to
deal with the negative effects of the economic crisis and the best
mechanism to find common solutions to the current challenges in the
workplace. Still, severe limitations continue to exist in South Asia and
the rest of the world in law and practice for organizations to exercise
their rights fully.
Legal constraints to form associations exist for a variety of
category of workers, including workers in the agricultural and the
public sector, as well as domestic workers in export processing zones,"
she said.
Labour Relations and Manpower Minister Athauda Senevirathne said,
"Sri Lanka is committed to the promotion of collective bargaining in the
country and the country has a long history of collective bargaining. The
first collective agreement was signed in 1929 between the Employers
Federation of Ceylon and the Ceylon Trade Union Congress."
"We are aware of some of the existing constraints in fully
implementing the convention, such as bargaining in the public sector, in
the informal sector and the effect of new employment relationships.
Nevertheless, collective bargaining would be the most effective way in
reconciling the legitimate aspirations of workers and economic
constraints faced by the employers," he said. |
