The full range of the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) EFC’s services, from legal representation and advice on labour and industrial relations issues will be on offer to the fast expanding business communities in Hambantota and Jaffna.

This is following the signing of an MoU between EFC and Hambantota and Jaffna Chambers of Commerce.

The EFC Chairman Rajan Britto expressed his view at the first phase of this initiative to extend the EFC’s support beyond the Western Province. “We have to give the SME’s in various sectors a lot of support and this is one way of moving forward on this,” he said.

The EFC already represents a wide variety of industries from plastics

to plantations and practically the entire financial and service sector. However up until now, its membership has been fairly Colombo-centric.

The Yarlpanam Chamber of Commerce and Industries has taken on the development of the small and medium industry sector in the district. Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Yarlpanam Chairman S Poornachandran said he is pleased to sign this MoU with the EFC.

”Our chamber is only 10 years old so the EFC is like an 80 year old mother feeding and helping her 10 year old child,” he said.

Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce Director, Suresh de Mel said in Sri Lanka the biggest challenge at the moment is sustainability of peace. Therefore it is necessary to create more formal structures at the district level, then the Western Province and Colombo will keep developing much faster and the gap between the regions and Colombo will continue to widen so it will be tougher to sustain peace.

The EFC’s Deputy Director General, Kanishka Weerasinghe, said the signing was an important milestone in the EFCs history and hoped to have similar meaningful partnerships with other regional employers’ organizations and speak in one voice.

The signing which coincided with a South Asian meeting of Employers’ Organizations organized by the ILO was witnessed by its Country Director Donglin Li and other international delegates from the South Asia region.