Open and fair discussions

OPEN discussions are the hallmark of public policy. Therefore it is understandable that the Private Sector Employee Pension Fund Bill has come under fire for not taking into consideration the concerns of key stakeholders, namely the trade unions and private sector.

Several organisations have become involved in the fight against the Bill, which was initially supposed to be tabled before parliament on 27 April. However, following strong protests by a trade union contesting it as inconsistent with the Constitution the government has decided to await the Supreme Court’s verdict before moving ahead. However they are meeting today to decide what their joint approach to contesting the Bill should be.

Meanwhile Joint Business Forum and former Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) President Chandra Jayaratne have written to the President seeking a reversal of the Bill. The Employers' Federation of Ceylon has released a circular to their members debriefing them of the developments and concerns attached to the Bill. The letter of the Joint Business Forum was handed over to the President’s office last Tuesday morning to set the stage for the discussions with the president today.

Jayaratne’s letter contains 40 points that have to be considered in the Bill. Among these, the former CCC president has sought the cost benefits accruing to the covered employees, employers, as well as the socio-economic benefits accruing to the nation and its people in the longer term, as well as the differences between the currently proposed pension benefits scheme and its proposed operations, management, sustainability and control, over the many similar proposals of previous governments that were duly subjected to open public intellectual debate and abandoned due to being deemed as unviable and unjustified in respect of the sustainable cost benefits to employers, employees and the State.

At this leg of discussions the business chambers have not been invited with the trade unions gaining entrance to air their views. Whatever the case may be it is hoped that there will be open minds to consider the concerns of the trade unions and private sector since it is the people who stand to lose.   

A pension is the main investment made by every working person towards their retirement. It is a pension that will keep them in their twilight years and bear the burden of not only their survival but also the increasing encumbrance faced by society in supporting Sri Lanka’s growing aging population.

With one of the world’s fastest aging populations when the 2011 Budget introduced policies to establish a pension fund for private sector workers the response was favourable. However the tides have turned and many are concerned of adverse impacts if the Bill is rushed through parliament.

It is essential that the government discusses all its plans pertaining to all these three funds so that all stakeholders are aware of the plans. The step by the government to get the prime minister to table the Bill and rush it through parliament gives the impression that there is something to hide. These inklings create more distrust among the employers and workers resulting in resentment being created needlessly.

For Sri Lanka to achieve fast tracked economic growth there must be an environment of safety and trust for labour as well. This is also important for human resource management and attracting top professionals and companies into Sri Lanka. For the sake of the present and the future the government must learn to become more transparent so that economic benefits are felt by the normal people.