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| Sunday, 18 May 2003 |
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Employees stranded due to close-down of Korean factories by DON ASOKA WIJEWARDENA A large number of Sri Lankan workers employed in Korean factories are being regularly left in the lurch due to technical loopholes that allow the foreign owners to close down factories before their contracts expire with the Board of Investment (BOI). The basis of setting up business under "Normal entry investment" category of the BOI, often deprives employees of salaries and wages, EPF contributions and other dues. About 55,000 Sri Lankans are employed in Korean companies in the country. Employment and Labour Minister, Mahinda Samarasinghe, said that there were genuine companies operating in Sri Lanka but some were in the habit of suddenly closing down their factories, causing several undue problems to their workforce. Minister Samarasinghe said that as Minister of Labour he would seek the assistance of the Korean Ambassador in Sri Lanka or the intervention of the government of Korea to solve these issues. Mr. Samarasinghe said that the industrial law in force did not prioritise payment of salaries and wages, EPF and other benefits to employees when factories decided on redundancy or their close-down. He said he would propose new labour laws to settle all emoluments first when companies shut down their services. When asked about action against those companies, he said that if he could not resolve the problem of sudden close-down with the assistance of the officials concerned, he would propose to enact laws in Parliament to impose severe penalties on company owners who flout the labour laws of the country. Director Industrial Relations (BOI), Mr. A. C. Weerasuriya, said that about 140 Korean companies employing around 55,000 workers had been registered with the BOI under two types companies of which were in operation in Sri Lanka. "The first was privileged companies which had the approval of the BOI under an agreement. These were genuine companies. The second was "normal entry investment", only with the BOI approval but without agreement. The latter could leave the country in contravention of labour rules and regulations, because, generally, a decision to close down a factory was often taken by the parent company in Korea," Weerasuriya said. Mr. Weerasuriya said that about 200 employees in a Korean factory at Katana had to seek legal redress over the sudden termination of their services last year. About 57 employees at Kandana had filed cases against another Korean company for compensation. |
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