Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara said that everyone wants to work with respect without being scolded by anyone and programme will be developed to do one’s job with pride without getting scolded.
The minister said that professional institutions related to this concept will be set up and gazetted by next February.
The minister mentioned this during the discussion held with bus drivers about raising their professional level and protecting their professional safety under the “Garu Saru” programme which has been launched to provide respectability and security to all those working in the informal sector in Sri Lanka.Minister Nanayakkara also said:“All professions in this country should be equally respected. It’s only about 25 lakhs of people in this country who are doing jobs where EPF and ETF are deducted and registered in the Department of Labour with a proper employment contract.
But this sector does not represent the majority of the workforce in our country. Accordingly, about sixty lakhs of people are engaged in unorganized sector jobs in our country. These people are doing a great job for the country. You also belong to that group. But if there is a problem regarding the dignity of your profession, the safety of your profession, the security of your job, there is no place to complain about it.
Also, there is currently no system in this country to take care of you when you come to a stage in life where you are unable to work as a driver or assistant. Therefore, the “Garu Saru” programme is implemented to turn people who contribute a lot to the country’s economy, but do not have proper professional security, into respected professionals.We say that in a foreign country, the bus driver wears a tie or wears a uniform to work, and the bus arrives on time. Also, it is said that the discipline of the drivers in those countries is very high. We have also heard that drivers in those countries have the same facilities and privileges as others.
In fact, every professional should have that respect. The bus driver and conductor should have this respect. Respect is created by bringing professionalism to every job. That means, as a government, we create the environment where any person can work with pride in their profession.
A programme should be implemented that enables a person engaged in every profession to lead a fruitful life. Related to this matter, we should discuss protecting the safety of your profession and a program to take care of you in case of any kind of accident, a system to take care of your dependent children and family, and how you will live until you find the next job if you lose your job.”Minister Nanayakkara added that the “Garu Saru” programme was started with many institutions associated with the Labour Ministry where the aim is to strengthening and protecting the informal workers in the country such as the bus drivers and bus conductors by giving them their due respect and also steps will be taken to ensure job security of them and provide protection and dignity for them and their family members.The minister also pointed out that a separate chapter related to professional dignity has been included in the new Security Act coming to Parliament next year where the Labour Ministry will also get the authority to set up boards related to each profession and apart from that, the ministry will be empowered through the act to gazette the standards and issue regulations related to those professions.
Varuna Dayaratne