Topics
Employee Rights
Prime Minister Bandaranaike’s deep humanistic and socialist impulses were manifest through a range of measures and Acts of Parliament he initiated to improve and uplift the life and conditions of the Sri Lankan worker. Among these were the declaration of 1st of May as May Day, to commemorate the contribution of labour to the national wealth. This was followed by progressive amendments to the working conditions of the worker, in legislation relating to Shop and Office Employees, Factory Workers and the Wages Boards governing remuneration to workers .
A landmark achievement was the setting up of the Employees’ Provident Fund which, through mandatory contributions from the employer and employee, guaranteed to workers and their families retirement benefits not hitherto available to the Sri Lankan working class.