Industrial peace is a key to the economic development of a country. During the global economic crisis millions of workers lost their jobs or faced curtailment of benefits they had enjoyed earlier. How will labour issues impact on the recovery and what are the new global trends in employer-employee relations?

Here are excerpts of an interview with the CEO of the Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC) Ravi Peiris, with the Sunday Observer:

Protection of labour rights is better in Sri Lanka compared to other countries.

We have a long history of labour protection legislations. In fact some of our legislation goes back to pre colonial times.

Sri Lanka has ratified almost all fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in relation to labour. Freedom of association, right to join a trade union are fundamental rights in our present constitution.

Our labour legislations also promote and secure collective bargaining of employees. In fact it encourages making collective bargaining mandatory in instances where the union has more than 40% representation.

This was introduced by an amendment to the law in 1999. Sri Lanka is a unique country that has this kind of legislation.

In some of the countries in the region there are specific legislations to restrict TU activities, especially in Free Trade Zones (FTZs).

However, labour regulations in Sri Lanka are applicable to every employee including companies in EPZs.

Therefore, we can confidently say that over the years the Government of Sri Lanka has put a formidable framework to ensure labour standards in line with ILO conventions.

However, having a framework in law is one thing and putting it into practice is another.

By Fred Thomas, Industry Director, Apriso

After the government provided a $17.4 billion lifeline to two of the largest US automakers last year, most Americans still thought that the big Detroit three – GM, Chrysler and Ford – were down for the count.

Over the last few decades, we’ve seen domestic car sales from American companies slide from over 80 percent to less than half, with steady year-over-year market share losses. Correspondingly, Toyota, Honda and other Asian manufacturers have become highly profitable sales volume leaders while the Detroit three struggle to make a buck.

From an outside perspective, the charts and trend-lines paint an uncertain future for US automotive manufacturers. Despite the headlines, this is a historic moment where America’s iconic automotive industry can bounce back. It can be an automotive renaissance, where US automakers will return to the principles that once fueled their success – powered by enterprise software technology.

Matching Supply with Demand, Not the Other Way Around

For the decades that US automakers had been losing ground, domestic brands had become increasingly fixed on single products in a single plant with production lines that ran continuously to cover fixed overhead costs. Even as the competitive alternatives for the American consumer increased, US automakers continued to flood the market with more cars than there were buyers. Even incentivized, low-profit prices intended to create additional demand was not enough to offset the financial hole Detroit found itself in.