Changing attitudes for development

Wednesday, 5 January 2011 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A private bus strike looms on 11 January unless demands by the Private Bus Owners Association (PBOA) are met by the Western Province Transport Authority (WPTA). The new year brings old stories and few changes are seen. During the next 12 months, the focus is on developing the country and regaining lost growth, but if infrastructure that has cost billions of dollars is to be used to bring relief to the people, then there must be fewer strikes and better mechanisms for workers to settle disputes.

Despite the mechanisms, including boards and commissions being in place, there seems to be little communication between the service providers and the State officials who have to implement policy changes. It is admitted that the authorities have to keep the welfare of masses in view when they are having discussions, but at the same time finding a compromise must be focused on as well. Obviously this is easier said than done, especially when the other faction uses strikes, demonstrations and work-to rule policies to muscle their way into a lopsided agreement. Both sides have justifiable demands and finding a balance between these two extremes can be an immense challenge at times.

From the point of the common man, the reaction is simple: another strike, another day. With or without public transport, the people have to come to work to earn their daily bread. So used to strikes are our people that they have almost become immune to the whole event and consider it to be little more than a common occurrence that must be dealt with. However, there are economic considerations that affect the larger picture.

On the one hand, local and foreign direct investment will not be attracted by infrastructure that clogs up at the whim of unions. No matter how justified the cause, there will have to be less disruptive mechanisms in place to deal with them. On the other hand, strikes both inside and outside companies will result in productivity dropping and while most private sector stakeholders make it a point to have a good relationship with their unions, they could also work together with the public sector to transfer some of their frameworks and expertise to make their counterparts more efficient.

From the point of foreign investors, the large number of holidays that Sri Lanka has together with numerous strikes will not paint a positive picture. Yet the labour laws of Sri Lanka should continue to protect worker and public rights and they should not be sacrificed negligently. As usual, there are many points to balance in a continuously changing world with a higher target than ever before to achieve.

In Sri Lanka’s march towards development, the challenges are many. However, one aspect that will need speedy attention is the working attitudes of people, particularly in essential infrastructure-oriented services. Development requires mobility on a very higher level, not simply physically, but in thought processes and technology as well. Sri Lanka needs to gradually evolve its ways and means of doing things so that what is considered to be the most obvious now – strikes – will at least become a rare phenomenon. This could be the toughest challenge that the country has faced in recent times, for changing attitudes is far harder than anything else.