Justice Min. violates intl. labour conventions – Ravi

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Justice Minister Ali Sabry’s attempts to ban trade union action was a violation of international labour agreements that the country had ratified, and this could have disastrous consequences for the country, College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS) President, Ravi Kumudesh told The Island yesterday.

Last week, the Justice Minister proposed to ban strikes in sectors such as health, ports, customs, water supply, power and energy.

“By violating international labour agreements, the government will tarnish the country’s image internationally. Minister Sabry goes to Geneva and claims that he supports labour rights. He comes here and tries to violate agreements that we have ratified.”

Kumudesh said that a few years back, the government had agreed to incorporate the ILO Convention No. 190 (Eliminating Violence and Harassment in the World of Work) into Sri Lankan law. Minister Sabry had presented a Cabinet Paper on the convention, but nothing had come out of it, Kumudesh said.