Champika Jayasinghe

The Employers' Federation of Ceylon

The Employers' Federation of Ceylon (EFC) was established in 1929 as an organization of employers dealing with labour and social issues in Sri Lanka. It is today the principal organization of employers, promoting employer interests at national level, especially focusing on industrial relations and labour law. The unique feature of this organization is that it provides a wide range of direct services to its member employers. The membership consists of individual employers representing different business interests. Initially, the EFC was more involved in ‘fire fighting' and settlement of industrial disputes. This was a period of time when employer-employee relations were very much adversarial and conflictual. Subsequently, with the opening of the economy, Sri Lanka became an attractive point of investment for many foreign and multi national Companies. Ever since the 1980s, the EFC brought in a new culture and expanded its services in terms of training and development through which it promotes better workplace relations between employers and workers. Today, it is a formidable organization which commands the attention of the policy makers in relation to labour policy, and the EFC plays a very important role in terms of lobbying for labour reforms and changes in policy in the interest of employers in Sri Lanka. It is recognized by all Trade and Business Chambers in Sri Lanka as the ‘voice of business' in relation to labour law and industrial relations in Sri Lanka.