History and Growth
Established in 1929, the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) is the national employers’ organisation in Sri Lanka. Over the years, we have committed ourselves to adapt to the requirements of a dynamic membership to promote productive employment and social harmony. A unique feature of the EFC is that we provide a wide range of services to our member organisations which consist of individual employers representing different business interests.
Initially, the EFC was mainly involved in ‘firefighting’ and settlement of industrial disputes. This was a period when employer-employee relations were very adversarial and conflictual. Subsequently, with the opening of the economy, Sri Lanka became an attractive point of investment for many global and multinational Companies. Since the 1980s, the EFC brought in a new culture and expanded its services through which it promotes better workplace relations between employers and workers.
Today, it is a formidable organisation 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. The EFC is recognised by all Trade and Business Chambers in Sri Lanka as the ‘voice of business’ in relation to employment law and industrial relations in Sri Lanka.
First Collective Agreement between the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon and the All Ceylon Trade Union Congress was signed. The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) was formed by a group of Employers who, recognizing trade unionism as a part of the national, economic and political growth of the country, realized the necessity of unification among Employers’ interests. The EFC was organized as a ‘true Federation’ in that it was an apex body with different Associations affiliated to it. In August 1927 Mr. S P Hayley made a proposal to the Committee of the Chamber of Commerce that an Employers’ Federation should be constituted under the auspices of the Chamber. The Resolution to set up the Federation was unanimously accepted and the first meeting of the Provincial Council of the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon was held on 15th January 1929.
The EFC was registered as the first registered Trade Union in the country, under the Trade Unions Ordinance No. 14 of 1935, bearing Registration Number 01.
The EFC Secretariat was shifted to Castle Lane, Bambalapitiya.
The EFC celebrated 50 years.
The EFC Secretariat was shifted to No. 30, Sulaiman Avenue, Colombo 5.
The EFC commenced its training services. The first Monograph on leave, holidays and overtime in the private sector was published.
The Regional Plantation Companies joined the EFC.
The EFC spearheaded the creation of the Skills Development Fund. The EFC still has a place on the Board and continues as a shareholder.The EFC celebrated 75 years.
The EFC Secretariat was shifted to No.385 J3, Old Kotte Road, Rajagiriya, where it is located at present.
The Employer Network on Disability was established.
The Responsible Business Initiatives Unit of the EFC was established with the intention of bringing together various CSR activities of the EFC under a single umbrella. These activities included the establishment of EFC’s pioneering Employer Network on Disability, the EFC’s many initiatives on gender equity/equality at the workplace, workplace education programmes on the prevention of HIV conducted in collaboration with the ILO and the promotion of the UN Global Compact.
HR and Legal Solutions Unit of the EFC was launched to provide both its member corporates and non-members with a broad spectrum of Legal and Human Resources consultancy services.
The first EFC Symposium was organised on the theme of “Harnessing Innovation for Organisational Sustainability”
“Compliance +” brand was introduced by the EFC in collaboration with the ILO with the intention of showcasing Sri Lanka as a country which maintains a very high standard in relation to employing workers, in comparison with other countries in the region. This brand is available for Sri Lankan businesses that compete in the global marketplace with their products and services.
The Employers’ National Network of Youth Initiatives was launched.
Collaborating with the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (ITC-ILO), the EFC entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in launching an Executive Diploma in Employment Relations.
The National Skills Passport, a tri-partite project between the EFC, the ILO - Colombo Office and the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) was launched.
Source: The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon 1929 – 2018, E.F.G. Amerasinghe