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| Sunday, 9 February 2003 |
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National Productivity Secretariat formed : Shot in the arm for economic development by Don Asoka Wijewardena In a bid to maintain excellence in productivity both in the public and private sectors a "National Productivity Secretariat" has been set up under the supervision of the Ministry of Employment and Labour. The main functions of the secretariat include monitoring public and private sector service and manufacturing organisations and ensuring that they are maintained in accordance with the labour rules and regulations; assessing the quality and quantity of production and ensuring the finished products are quality assured before being released to the market; ascertaining whether such organisations defraud EPF contributions; evaluating welfare facilities of such organisations and checking the quality of raw materials used for manufacturing items. The establishment of the secretariat follows a decision by the government to commence a programme on national productivity this year. The task was entrusted to the Ministry of Labour and the secretariat will also confer awards to organisations that maintain excellence in productivity, according to Minister Samarasinghe. Minister Samarasinghe said that the government realising the importance of productivity for economic growth, had laid a strong foundation to implement effective reforms for sustainable development. He said that the Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) and the United States Aid Organisation (UNAO) had granted the required funds to launch programmes to conduct productivity competitions among the public and private sector organisations and confer national productivity awards to the winners. Minister Samarasinghe said that a "National Productivity Policy" was being formulated and one of its significant aspects was to boost productivity at enterprise level by utilising modern techniques. Enhanced productivity would strenghten the employer-employee relationship and ensure a bright future for both parties. According to Labour Ministry sources, about 100 organisations in the manufacturing and service sectors, about 500 schools and several ministries have applied for the "National Productivity Awards" competition 2002. The National Productivity Awards and National Quality Awards ceremony 2002 will be held at the BMICH on February 10,2003 under the patronage of the Minister of Power and Energy Karu Jayasuriya. Guests-of-honour will be the Minister of Enterprise Developemnt, Industrial Policy, Investment Promotion and Constitutional Affairs Prof. G. L. Peiris, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Ashley Wills and the Secretary General of the Asian Productivity Organisation Takashi Tajima. |
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