ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka should modernize its labour laws to take into account industry specific factors and emerging global changes, a private equity fund manager targeting South and South East Asia has said.
Already industries operated under distinct laws, such as Shop and Office Employees Act, the Factory Ordinance Act for manufacturing, and the Mining Act for extractive industries.
Many of these laws however were designed for a manufacturing economy of the past, Arj Samarakoon, head of Plus94 Fund has said at forum on labour reforms.
“Labour laws are there to protect employees and to support healthy relationships with employers, but they should not be crafted in a way that hinders ethical employers from running their businesses,” Arj Samarakoon, he was quoted as saying in a statement.
Sri Lanka’s Shop and Office Act, which applies to the IT sector still restricted women working after 6.00 pm.
These laws, originally designed for a manufacturing economy, now pose barriers in a service-based, technology-driven environment, he said.
Rigid rules on work hours, overtime, and workplace flexibility as factors that can deter companies from hiring in Sri Lanka, Samarakoon said. (Colombo/Aug17/2025)
