Precarious Work in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This study describes different uncertain, insecure, and unstable working arrangements experienced by workers in Sri Lanka. Findings show that most informal sector workers experience precarious employment. The main types of precarious workers are temporary or contractual workers who work in the formal sector. Faced with competition, and in their attempts to cut costs and increase productivity, employers pressure workers to produce better goods, faster. Also, to adjust the workforce to meet the fluctuating demand in the market at lower cost, workers are given temporary or contractual contracts, so that their work is easily discontinued. The insecurities and instabilities of these workers come from several sources. First, they are deprived of some of the protection afforded by labor legislation because they do not have a permanent contract, and they have to constantly look for alternative work. Second, the intense nature of the work they are exposed to can increase their risks to different adverse health conditions. Poor health and lack of a permanent job can adversely affect their income-earning potential. Third, being temporary workers, they have fewer interactions with labor unions. Better information on the size and trends in precarious employment needs to be systematically collected so that policy makers will be better informed of the issues relating to precarious work in Sri Lanka and can initiate informed initiatives to improve the situation.

Female workers in textile and garment sectors in Sri Lankan Export Processing Zones (EPZs): gender dimensions and working conditions

“…As a result of export-oriented policies, urbanisation can increase rapidly and is a phenomenon that has been occurring in Sri Lanka since the late 1970s (Arunatilake, 2012). The urbanisation process is a feature of economic development and thus, is also responsible for affecting shifts in the work environment.…”

“…The urbanisation process is a feature of economic development and thus, is also responsible for affecting shifts in the work environment. There has been a decline in the Sri Lankan agriculture sector, decreasing the share of the GDP from 46% in 1950 to just 13% in 2010; in contrast, the services sector has experienced an increase from 37% to 59% and industry sector has also achieved an increase from 20% to 30% during the same period (Arunatilake, 2012). According to Amunugama (as cited in Arunatilake, 2012,), the Sri Lankan business and technology sector has grown to be "the fifth largest contributor to Gross Domestic Product (GDP)".…”

“…The movement towards economic liberalism that took place in the late 1970s in Sri Lanka has shifted work policies from import-substitution-oriented industrialisation to export-oriented industrialisation (Arunatilake, 2012). This has created more employment opportunities for younger women in the tourism and labour intensive industries, such as Export Processing Zones (EPZs), agriculture and general factory work (Arunatilake, 2012). The opportunity for rapid economic growth also resulted from an increased population of 'working age' individuals (currently 67%), which is expected to be maintained until 2017, generating a large workforce (World Bank, 2012).…”

Prevalence of occupational injury and its contributing factors among rubber tappers in Galle, Sri Lanka

“…16 Despite these efforts, health outcomes and nutritional status are still lower for people living on estates, compared to the other sectors. 18 …”

Patriarchy, Labour Markets and Development: Contesting the Sexual Division of Labour in Sri Lanka

“…Governed by an economic rationale predicated on maximizing productive efficiency, Sri Lankan women are subjected to precarious employment in vacuums of jurisdiction, where fundamental human rights are denied in the name of 'employment generation' and enhancing 'national competitiveness' (Arunatilake, 2012). As this material exploitation in the productive and reproductive sphere is accompanied by structures of cultural subordination, women workers exist in a state of super-exploitation, subjugated by both profit and patriarchy in the public and private realms.…”