Woman heads Labour Department

By Ananda KANNANGARA

The Labour Department has a long history. The Department was initially established during the colonial period in 1923 as the Department of Indian Immigrant Labour to look into the welfare of Indian immigration labour.

In 1931, the department was converted to a general department to look into the well-being of all workers in the country and named the Department of Labour. The department which comes under the Ministry of Labour Relations and Manpower provides an invaluable service to the eight million private sector workforce in the country. A number of commissioners have served as Heads of the Department since its inception. Prior to Pearl Weerasinghe was Labour Commissioner General Mahinda Madihahewa and made an invaluable contribution during his long service in the Department.

Pearl Weerasinghe who has over 25 years experience in the Labour Department was appointed Labour Commissioner General last week. She is the first woman to hold the post.

In an interview with the Sunday Observer, Commissioner General Pearl Weerasinghe said thousands of private sector workers visit the department from all parts of the country everyday for various purposes and her only wish was to provide an efficient service to all of them.

She said that out of the large number of persons who visit the Department, at least 75 percent come to attend to matters pertaining to their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) benefits.

"Therefore, I would focus special attention towards the solving of EPF related matters".

Following are the excerpts of the interview.

Q: What is the strength of the private sector in the country?

A: There are about eight million

Q: In addition to the Narahenpita Head Office, how many Area Labour officers are in the country?

A: We have established 56 area labour offices in all districts and these offices are connected with the head office.

Q: Do people have to come to Colombo to get their work done?

A: Unlike earlier, now people need not come to Colombo for official purposes. They could get their work done from their area offices.

Q: How long do you take to settle an EPF application?

A: If all relevant documents are submitted, the balances could be made within three days.

Q: Are there EPF defaulters?

A: Yes, there are many errant employers who have not been registered with the Labour Department. Most employers do not deduct provident fund contributions from workers. Some employers deduct EPF from the salaries of workers, but do not remit them to the Central Bank.

Q: What action do you take against such EPF defaulters?

A: We have deployed adequate investigating officers in every part of the country to track down EPF defaulters. Even last year we tracked down a number of employers who did not remit EPF deductions.

Q: How is the financial position of the EPF?

A: We have Rs. 850 billion under the EPF accounts in the Central Bank. and a certain percentage of that amount has been invested to buy treasury bills.

Q: What are the benefits the EPF members could obtain from their balances?

A: We offer a 30 a percent housing loan and money for medical expenses.

Q: Why does the Labour Department promote the private sector to install finger print machines at their work places?

A: We have taken a decision to use the National Identity Card number of each person as their EPF and ETF numbers in future.

Therefore obtaining the finger prints of employees is needed to make this program a success. In addition, the NIC number could also be used instead of the bank account numbers currently used.

Q: Will the private sector pension scheme be implemented?

A: Yes, there are about eight million private sector workers in the country and the Government needs to implement the pension scheme as soon as possible. A National Labour Advisory Committee has been appointed to discuss and submit proposals on this matter.

Q: Are there any regulations for employers in deploying female workers on night shifts?

A: Yes, employers should seek the permission from the Labour Department before females are deployed for night work.

Q: How will you facilitate a good relationship between employers and employees?

A: I wish to conduct social dialogues and also workshops very often, since such programs will be very useful to maintain a close rapport between employers and employees. These programs will also help to stop work stoppages and strikes.

Q: What steps would you take to give quick results to long-standing labour cases?

A: For the benefit of workers we must take some measures in this regard.