ILO Accused Of Supporting Govt’s Secret Labour Law Reforms

October 29, 2015

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) facilitated move to reform selected labour laws without consulting worker stakeholder’s has come under fire from the Trade Unions.

In a letter sent to ILO Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Donglin Li, the Trade Union’s state that “we the undersigned unions have reliably learnt that the Colombo office of the ILO is facilitating the reform of selected labour laws and your office has offered the government of Sri Lanka the services of two retired judges of the Supreme Court in order to provide necessary expertise”.

Further on the matter the Unions say that that a meeting will be hosted by the ILO on 2nd November 2015 to present the proposed draft labour reforms to unions.

The Unions say that they have been informed by a responsible senior official of the department of labour that as part of this process, major changes to the Industrial Disputes Act have already been effected in draft form and several other Acts are currently being reviewed.

The Union collective states “We wish to categorically state that we do not intend to be mere respondents of draft reforms or reviews the ILO unilaterally develops with chosen stakeholders sans any input or hearing from worker stakeholders. We consider this as a blatant disregard of the significance of the role of worker stakeholders”.

“In the above circumstances we wish to know, at whose behest the ILO has undertaken this process of labour reforms and why worker stakeholders were kept out of this process and its terms of reference not made public”

The Unions say that if a tripartite stakeholder is of the view that the current laws dealing with employment require changes they should first be brought to the attention of the stakeholders
Also the Unions have questioned the reputation and track record of the ILO nominated retired members from the judiciary to oversee the process.

“It is regretting to note that there are serious issues with the impartiality and integrity of these experts. One of them is a collaborator of the disgraceful impeachment of Chief Justice 43 and a cohort of the former regime who was unceremoniously and physically chased out from a high profile legal education institution headed by the country’s chief justice, after the fall of the former regime. This ex judicial officer was also a member of the bench that restricted the exercise of the right to strike in 2006” the letter adds.

The full letter sent by the Unions to the ILO chief is published below;

12th October 2015

Mr.Donglin Li
ILO Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives
Bauddhaloka Mawatha
Colombo 7.

Dear Sir,

ABSENCE OF IMPARTIALITY AND INTEGRITY IN THE ILO FACILITATED LABOUR REFORM PROCESS

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