Sri Lanka's Employers Federation clarifies request for five-day working week

Sri Lanka's Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC) has said a request to switch to a five-day working week for the private sector was made for employers and workers who require flexibility in their work hours.


The EFC has made this statement to clarify reports about a request made by the Federation for a five-day working week for the private sector.

In a letter addressed to Labour and Labour Relations Minister Gamini Lokuge, EFC Director General Ravi Peiris has said that their proposal is not for a uniform rule with regard to a 5-day week for the private sector.

"The rationale behind our proposal is to enable employers who require the flexibility of spreading over working hours over the five days to do so without any additional payment," he has said.

"The working arrangements of a five-day week therefore cannot be uniformly applied and what is required is to give the flexibility and the discretion to the employers and the workers in each establishment to decide on it," he has added.