Employers must strengthen policy engagement to address labour challenges: ILO

 

Points out several key challenges such as youth unemployment, high outmigration, an aging population and low workforce participation among women as issues significantly affecting labour force participation in Sri Lanka

As current women’s labour force participation rate in SL is worrisome, urges employers to explore making workplaces more family friendly

By Nuzla Rizkiya

Sri Lanka’s private sector, as employers, must strengthen its support for the government by providing policy solutions to facilitate progressive transitions in the economy, a senior representative from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said.

As global workforce trends and technology rapidly reshape business operations, ILO Bureau for Employers’ Activities Director Deborah France-Massin urged the local employer organisations to take on a bigger role in shaping the country’s national skill strategies.

Speaking at a symposium organised by the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon last week, she emphasised the need for private sector groups to improve their role as a liaison between the public and private sectors to find solutions for the workforce issues. “We are in an environment where fake news often becomes the truth. So, businesses, along with their representative organisations, must not only analyse and advocate for the companies they represent but also deliver difficult truths to those in power,” France-Massin said.

“At the same time, they must provide solutions to the government, solutions that help achieve policy objectives, benefiting everyone as a whole,” she added.

Reflecting similar sentiments at the symposium, ILO Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Joni Simpson listed several key challenges such as youth unemployment, high outmigration, an aging population and low workforce participation among women as issues significantly affecting labour force participation in Sri Lanka. She pointed out that all these issues are interconnected, as they stem from common roots such as stereotypes, gender biases and the competition between younger and older workers, leading to untapped potential and hindered creativity.

“It doesn’t have to be that way. Workplaces and employers can create age-friendly environments and studies show that mixed teams improve productivity. Many companies are implementing mentorship programmes pairing young and older workers together, to share experiences and these have been very successful,” Simpson said.

She also highlighted the changing expectations of the younger generations entering the workforce, noting that the younger employees seek purpose-driven work and favour flexible work arrangements and digital-driven innovation.

“Companies need to find ways to retain them and lifelong learning is one way to do so. Social dialogue is also key. The employers and employees should discuss their needs and motivations at workplace level to help shape effective inclusion strategies,” Simpson said.

Moreover, she shared that the women’s labour force participation rate in Sri Lanka has dropped to 31 percent, a figure Simpson termed “worrisome”, given that women have higher education rates than men.

The drop has been fuelled by several factors, including the gender pay gap, unpaid care work and a lack of support, which are major obstacles preventing women from entering, staying and advancing in the workforce.

“So, we need to think about how we can make workplaces more family friendly. This is a talent pool that exists but is unfortunately very underutilised,” Simpson said.

Source:
Dailymirror
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