Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières
, by CHAMARA Sumudu, MADURANGA Kalpa
Protection Union’s Gen. Secy. Kalpa Maduranga points out that ‘domestic workers being excluded from Nat’l Minimum Wage Act, is an act of modern slavery’ that ‘excludes them from EPF, ETF, gratuity, maternity benefits’
Despite being represented by tens of thousands of workers, Sri Lanka’s (…)
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“We are not employees of Uber; according to the company, we are just consumers of their service. This means the company doesn’t concern itself with our leave or safety. We don’t have any rights.”
– Jayasinghe Lanka,* 52, (…)
, by DIAS Sunimalee
Sri Lanka’s apparel industry is facing new challenges as orders keep increasing and factories both large and small are finding it hard to increase capacity as most workers are hard to come by.
As a result it is learnt that with orders increasing and order books full until around April next (…)
, by ARULINGAM Swasthika, FERNANDO Susitha
Passed out as a lawyer from the Colombo Law College and having two Master-LLM from the University of Colombo and a LLM and Development as a Chevening Scholar at School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, young activist Swastika Arulingam was a prominent figure in the Aragalaya (…)
, by DIAS Sunimalee
Trade unions are euphoric as the Rs.1700 wage hike for plantation workers means that the salaries of employees in other industries too should be increased to a national minimum wage of Rs.50,000.
Free Trade Zone and General Services Trade Union General Secretary Anton Marcus said that they (…)
, by Asian Labour Review, HEWAMANNE Sandya
For months since March 2022, mass protests engulfed the crisis-stricken Sri Lanka amid food and fuel shortages and skyrocketing inflation. Street demonstrations and political mobilisations by a range of social groups showed serious popular anger toward the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa who (…)
, by BAUTISTA Jahan Nidia , HOSKINS Tansy, JAHAN Dil Afrose, MAYORGA Juan
Sri Lanka is home to some of the biggest garment manufacturers in the world, and while clothing exports have risen, so have COVID-19 infections among workers. We talk to people who face the daily choice of disease or impoverishment.
Sitting alone in a room containing two narrow beds and a (…)
, by Daily FT
Ceylon Federation of Labour (CFL) in a statement yesterday expressed its reservations over the proposed Colombo Port City Bill.
CFL General Secretary T.M.R. Rasseedin in the statement said that CFL was perturbed by the attempt being made to exempt companies operating in the Port City from the (…)
Six Sri Lankan trade unions and workers’ organisations have filed a complaint with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group, raising the issues in the due diligence and labour rights components of the Environment and Social Action Plan for the proposed US $ 50 million (…)
, by SENANAYAKE Devana, SITTAMPALAM Janik
In October, a series of FTZ (Free Trade Zone) workers who manufacture clothes for international markets such as the US, tested positive for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka. FTZs are populated with women from rural areas who, undermined by poverty and limited opportunities, are ‘pushed’ rather than (…)
, by War on Want
Update: On 30 March 2021, Next replied to War on Want and Labour Behind the Label by letter, stating that Next will recognise the rights of the FTZ & GSEU union as representative of its workers in the NML [Next Management Limited] Katunayake Plant in Sri Lanka – and that Next will begin (…)
, by Correspondent(s)
Threatening of women activists of the Katunayake Free Trade Zone by the officials of the Government was condemned by Joseph Stalin, the General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers Union at a press conference held last week at the CMU Office.
About two weeks ago several social activists including (…)
In October this year, the country’s total workforce, stood at approximately 8,971,000 persons. The minimum wage rate of workers has remained static - at Rs.10,000/- a month, through 2019 and 2020. The cost of living on the other hand has increased many times over.
At today’s prices, it costs (…)
The past year, has been strangely, free of strike action. This is surprising given that the cost of living has been continuously rising, while at the same time wages of ordinary workers has been halved and large numbers have been laid off. This is in stark contrast to the status of workers in (…)
, by INDRAJITH Saman
The JVP-led Ethera Api organisation, yesterday, accused the government of making use of the high number of COVID-19 infected cases, from Kuwait, as an excuse to avoid bringing home thousands of Lankans stranded overseas.
Addressing the media at the party headquarters, yesterday, former JVP MP (…)
, by Ceylon Today
In a letter to Presidential candidates, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and Sajith Premadasa, five trade unions stated they had not paid attention to over two million employees in the formal private sector, and to those in the informal private sector, such as the private commuter (…)
, by Liberation Movement
Since coming into power in 2015, every Budget of the Yahapalana Government has faithfully advanced a labour law reform agenda. The 2019 Budget proposals attempt to frame labour law reforms as a solution to address the low participation of women in the workforce.
In the words of the Minister (…)
, by The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)
Plantation workers are demanding a living wage to be paid to workers in line with the existing cost of living in the country.
During discussions between the estate sector trade unions on Friday, the workers’ representatives said they want the Regional Plantation Companies (RPC) to increase (…)
, by Cat’s Eye Collective (Sri Lanka)
A feminist perspective on social security in Sri Lanka. Social protection should recognise women’s full social and economic contribution, respect workers’ union rights and avoid the ‘big brother’ excesses of India’s aadhaar system.
International Labour Day on 1 May was honoured in Sri Lanka by several major trade unions and other Left organisations. This was despite the Government’s attempts to ‘shift’ May Day to 7 May, to prevent it from ‘overlapping’ with Vesak Poya. The decision to shift a day that honours labour rights in order to make space for a religious holiday – particularly one which is observed by the majority community – is not a neutral one.
Sri Lanka’s (...)
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