Eventuality fund to redress workers

Chamikara WEERASINGHE

The Labour Relations and Productivity Promotion Ministry will enact a special eventuality fund to pay workers their due salaries, gratuities and other funds in the event that the companies they work at should collapse or that the companies close down and leave without paying workers their dues.

Labour Relations and Productivity Minister Gamini Lokuge yesterday said, of the companies that have started their factories in the Free Trade Zone, many have left the Zone leaving their staffers with unpaid salaries, gratuities and EPF payments.

This has led to many complications with the deceived workers trying to claim their funds from these international companies that vanish without a trace in spite of the fact that they have started these factories with the consent of the government and the approval of the Board of Investment, the Minister pointed out. "It has been decided to introduce a national level program to put these conditions completely out of the picture.

Thousands of poor workers have suffered immensely for they have been rendered helpless without jobs so unexpectedly and abruptly," he said. Commenting on Labour Tribunal cases, Lokuge said, the number of Labour Tribunal cases have dropped considerably.

"The problem is not the LT cases but Appeal cases , that have piled up," he said.

He plans to introduce a system to hasten the process of theses hearings as workers face severe hardships in these legal suits having to pay exorbitant sums to lawyers.

"With the envisioned fund, we will be able to pay gratuities, salary payments and other funds without inconveniencing them with time consuming processes, which is the result of lack of funds," he said.