Sri Lanka’s social protection policies:

Contributes to reducing rich, poor gap

[Benefits for people]

* School midday meals

* Free school uniforms, textbooks

* Free medical facilities

* Samurdhi benefits over 1.5 m families

* Poverty rate declines from 15.2 percent in 2006 to 7.6 percent in 2010

* Govt pension scheme benefits nearly million workers

* EPF, ETF benefits nearly two million workers

* Numerous social protection laws enacted

Text of the speech by Prime Minister D M Jayaratne at the third meeting of the UNESCO Forum of Ministers in Charge of Social Development Forum from South Asia from February 20-22, 2011 in Colombo

The focus of the forum will be on ‘social protection policies in South Asian countries’, a very relevant theme that will afford the participating countries to discuss at length the social protection policies implemented in their respective countries.

There will be healthy exchange of ideas, perspectives, views and country experiences in the formulation and implementation of social protection policies by each of the member countries, that will come in good stead in making realistic assessments and evaluations of their individual policies. Such self-assessments and evaluations would help reformulating or reshaping their individual country policies to provide greater benefits to their citizens.

Social protection is described as a set of public measures that a society provides for its members to protect them against economic and social distress caused by the absence or substantial reduction of income from work as a result of various contingencies such as sickness, maternity, employment injury, unemployment, old age, etc.

Social protection policies

Some developed countries with their vast resources and wealth had succeeded in introducing over the years social protection measures that had secured far-reaching benefits to their citizens. The developing countries too have taken social protection initiatives, though not as advanced as in the developed world, in conformity with the level of their economies that had benefitted their citizens for considerable length of time.

I consider it appropriate at this point, to present in brief for your information Sri Lanka’s experience in the formulation and implementation of social protection policies over the years some of which have targeted the whole country contributing thereby to narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor in Sri Lanka.

Introduction of free education for the whole country from the primary school level to the university education for the last 60 years had not only produced a highly literate society but also opened up vast potential and avenues for the educated rural poor to rise up in the social ladder.

Healthy society

The free midday meals to the schoolchildren, provision of free uniforms and textbooks to school going children of all grades further assisted the economically vulnerable families to educate their children. The free medical facilities for all the citizens in the country had helped building a healthy society and the span of life of the people. The Samurdhi scheme, a package of financial benefits granted together with employment facilities to those below official poverty line had benefitted over 1.5 million families in the country to sustain their livelihood.

All these beneficial measures have contributed to the decline of Sri Lanka’s poverty which was 15.2 percent in 2006 to 7.6 percent in 2010. I can add a plethora of laws and enactments passed in Sri Lanka’s legislature that had contributed to social protection of the general citizens and those employed in the public and private sectors.

Following are principle enactments among many that had been implemented for considerable number of years providing social protection to various segments of Sri Lankan society. They are,

* The Government Servants Pension Scheme benefitting nearly a million of public servants,

* Employees provident Fund and Employees Trust Fund, the two funds granting financial benefits to nearly two million private sector employees,

* The following acts too are important,

i. Allowances to Plantation Workers Act
ii. Wages Board Ordinance of 1953
iii. Medical Wants Ordinance
iv. Industrial Disputes Act
v. Payment of Gratuity Act
vi. Maternity Benefits Ordinance

Implementation of above acts and ordinances among many other Acts had provided considerable social protection to Sri Lankan work force.

I am aware that our sister countries of South Asia too have introduced similar social protection legislations and policy initiatives to provide social security benefits to their citizens. However, we can expect in this Forum frank discussions and exchange of views quite candidly among the participants with regard to their experiences and practices in the social protection field. The outcome of the deliberations as expected by UNESCO would contribute to -

* advancement of the agenda for a social protection floor in South Asia and

* advancement of knowledge and social research on neglected themes and excluded groups in the field of social protection

I have noted that in addition to the Ministers and their delegation there are about 15 - 20 scholars, experts specialized in the area of social protection who have been invited for this Forum. Their interactions and intellectual contributions would further enhance the value of the deliberations at this meeting.

UNESCO deserves our sincere thanks for the pioneering efforts taken to work in collaboration with member countries of South Asia to promote and enhance dialogue between Ministries, academic researchers and members of Civil Society for development of social protection policies of South Asia.

There were two earlier fora organized by UNESCO; the first was held in Pakistan in 2006 on the theme ‘Public Accountability’. The second forum was held in India in 2008 on ‘Transparency, Right to information and Social Development’. They were vital topics that had evoked useful discussion and exchange of views that had benefitted the member countries.