Sri Lanka

LABOUR RIGHTS INDEX 2022

Trade Union Indicator

The Labour Rights Index 2022 (LRI 2022) is a de-jure index covering 135 economies and structured around the working lifespan of a worker. In total, 46 questions or evaluation criteria are scored across 10 indicators. The overall score is calculated by taking the average of each indicator, with 100 being the highest possible score. The Index uses a rating system, ranging from “Total Lack of Decent Work” to “Decent Work”. The Labour Rights Index aims at an active contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, by providing necessary (complementary) insights into de jure provisions on issues covered in particular by SDG8 (Decent Jobs), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 16 (Strong Institutions). The Index is based on national labour legislation, applicable on 1 January 2022. The Index does not take into account COVID-19 related labour market measures in its scoring.

Sri Lanka’s overall score is 47 out of 100. The overall score for Sri Lanka is lower than the regional average observed across South Asia (56.33). Within the South Asian region, the highest score is observed for Nepal (72).

Sri Lanka ratified Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) in 1995 and Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) in 1972.

Labour Rights Index 2022

47/100

LRI Country Score

0/100

Trade Union Indicator

10.1 %

Trade union density rate (%)

3.2 %

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)

2.41

SDG indicator 8.8.2

4

ITUC Global Rights Index 2022 Ratings

Question

Answer

Score

Legal Basis

Violation

Does the law allow workers to form and join unions of their own choice?

No

0 §31 of the Trade Union Ordinance 1935

Does the law allow workers to bargain collectively with employers through their representative unions?

No

0 §5-10 & 32(A)(g) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1950; USDOS CRHRP 2021

A / D

Does the law provide for the right to strike?

No

0 §32, 48, Industrial Disputes Act, 1950; §67, Factories Ordinance, 1942; §2, Trade Union Ordinance, 1935

Does the law prohibit employers from terminating employment contracts of striking workers?

No

0 §43 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1950

Textual sources

A : National Law

National Labour Legislation

B : CEACR

CEACR: ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (latest report)

C : ITUC

ITUC: ITUC Global Rights Index 2022

D : USDOS

USDOS: US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2021

LRI Country Score
The Labour Rights Index has 10 indicators and 46 sub-indicators. The LRI Country score averages 10 indicators and ranges between 0 and 100. The lowest and highest scorers are Nigeria (29/100) and Belgium/Greece (96/100). https://labourrightsindex.org/

Trade Union Indicator
The trade union indicator is composed of 4 sub-indicators. Scoring is done through the binary method (0 or 1). The score ranges between 0-100.

Trade union density rate (%)
The trade union density rate conveys the number of union members who are employees as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on trade union density, please check ILOSTAT.

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)
The collective bargaining coverage rate conveys the number of employees whose pay and/or conditions of employment are determined by one or more collective agreement(s) as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on collective bargaining coverage, please check ILOSTAT.

SDG indicator 8.8.2
SDG indicator 8.8.2 measures national compliance with fundamental labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining or FACB). It ranges from 0 to 10, with 0 being the best possible score (indicating higher levels of compliance with FACB rights) and 10 the worst (indicating lower levels of compliance with FACB rights). It is based on six ILO supervisory body textual sources and national legislation.
For an updated assessment on SDG indicator 8.8.2, please check ILOSTAT.

ITUC Global Rights Index 2022 Ratings
The ITUC Global Rights Index depicts the world’s worst countries for workers by rating 148 countries on a scale from 1 to 5+ on the degree of respect for workers’ rights. Violations are recorded each year from April to March. For a detailed description of ratings and methodology, please follow the link.

To find an ITUC affiliate in your country, please check the LINK:

Violations

National Labour Legislation / US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2021 (USDOS)

§32(A)(g) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1950

32A. No employer shall –
(a) require a workman to join, or refrain from joining, any trade union, or to withdraw from, or to refrain from withdrawing from, is membership of a trade union of which he is a member, as a condition of his employment;
(b) dismiss a workman by reason only of his membership of a trade union or of his engaging in trade union activities;
(c) give any inducement or promise to a workman for the purpose of preventing him from becoming, or continuing to be, a member, office-bearer or representative of a trade union;
(d) prevent a workman from –
(i) forming a trade union; or (ii) supporting a trade union by financial or other means;
(e) interfere with the conduct of the activities of a trade union; (f) dismiss, or otherwise take disciplinary action against, any workman or office-bearer of a trade union – (i) for any statement made by such workman or office-bearer in good faith before any tribunal or person in authority; or (ii) for any statement regarding acts or omissions of the employer relating to the terms and conditions of employment, of the members of such trade union made by such workman or office-bearer, in pursuance of an industrial dispute for the purpose of securing redress or amelioration of working conditions of such members; (g) refuse to bargain with a trade union which has in its membership not less than forty per centum of the workmen on whose behalf such trade union seeks to bargain.

USDOS CRHRP 2021

Workers in nonessential services industries, except for workers in public-service unions, have the legal right to bargain collectively.
(…)
Nonunion worker councils tended to represent labor in export-processing zone (EPZ) enterprises, although several unions operated in the zones. According to the Board of Investment, which operated the EPZs, if both a recognized trade union with bargaining power and a nonunion worker council exist in an enterprise, the trade union would have the power to represent the employees in collective bargaining.
In addition to the public-security ordinance, the law allows the president to declare services provided by government agencies as “essential” public services.