Labour Ministry to enact new regulations

By Harshanee Jayasekera

Sri Lanka is in need of legislation to cover all workers in the country since the existing legislation is inadequate in terms of Occupational Safety and Health.
This was revealed at the inauguration of the recently held training course for certified lead auditors for occupational health and safety management system.
Conveying the Message of the Minister Athauda Seneviratne, the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Labour Relations and Manpower said, “The main piece of legislation on Occupational Health and Safety in Sri Lanka is the Factories Ordinance. It provides various standards in preventing industrial accidents and spread of diseases. However we have observed its inadequacies in addressing in terms of emerging challenges relating to occupational safety and health, and the limitations in coverage to workers other than those workers who work in “factories” as defined by the Factory Ordinance.”
Therefore the Ministry of Labour Relations and Manpower has taken measures to enact new legislation to overcome the shortcomings of the present legislation. The minister revealed in his speech that the proposed law recognizes the need to formulate and adopt an Occupational Safety and Health policy.
He also stated, “A safe working environment is important for improving productivity and reduction of work hours caused due to injuries and illnesses. Therefore an OHS management system has become a legal requirement in many countries.”
The representative of the Asian Productivity Organization K.D .]
Bhadwaj said, “2.2 million people die in the world of occupational accidents, 270 million suffer from non-fatal injuries that make them stay out of work which is a cost of about 810 man days per year and 170 million suffer from occupational illnesses.”
He added that the cost of all occupational accidents in the world accounts to US$125 trillion every year. He said, “Every year the occupational accident and illness rate is increasing and it is 4 to 5 times high in the developing countries compared to the developed countries.”
Commenting on the positive effects of promoting occupational safety in a country he added that by promoting safety measure in a work place the industry can improve productivity by which competitiveness can be increased.
He further added that 90 to 95 percent of the victims of occupational accidents are of the Small and Medium Enterprises which is the “most important section in a developing economy” and emphasized the importance of occupational safety and health