That no document has been prepared regarding the amendment of the Labor Laws, and that trade unions and all political parties are invited to come and comment on the Public Opinion Platform established by the Ministry before commenting on the Labor Law Amendment in front of the media. Labor and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara said.
The minister said this while addressing the third session of the Influx platform, which gathers public opinion regarding the reform of labor laws, that the International Monetary Fund or any other organization has not notified to amend the labor laws.
The minister who further commented said:
”Our main objective is to change the labor law which is about one hundred years old. The International Labor Organization or any other international organization has not told us to change the labor law of our country. As a country, we are blaming ourselves for 74 or 75 years and we are not thinking about moving forward.
The number of institutions that pay EPF and ETF, which is about eighty thousand, is very few as a country. There are about two million workers registered in EPF and ETF. There are two hundred and eighty thousand tax paying institutions in the country as of last year. I mean including those who pay taxes when they earn.
Can a country move forward if even ten percent of the country’s institutions do not pay taxes? can’t We are only accusing. But the measures required to solve the problem are not taken.
There are many problems in running businesses and industries in our country. The problems that arise regarding the labor rules take a major place in it. They have been raised by employers at various times. And the same goes for working people. They also do not get much protection under these labor laws. If the existing labor laws and regulations have been good so far, the labor community of our country should be developed today. But that has not happened.”