Dole Lanka terminates services of labour outsourcing firm

Dole Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd – a subsidiary of Dole Asia Holdings Pte., the world’s largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruits and fresh vegetables, recently terminated the contract with one of its labour outsourcing companies, Southern Force Ltd.
A statement by Dole Lanka said the decision was primarily made upon an inquiry that revealed that Southern Force had not made the EPF/ETF payments of its contracted labourers for many years although they had collected the same from Dole Lanka. 
The inquiry was triggered when Southern Force showed reluctance to renew their contract with new conditions, which demanded transparency in statutory payment records. 
Furthermore, several contract employees had made complaints that their statutory payments had been withheld by Southern Force. 
In this connection, the Labour Department had filed two cases against Southern Force with the Wellawaya Magistrate’s Court, in which they had admitted guilt and agreed on monthly payments to court in relation to the unpaid EPF/ETF funds. 
Further investigations by Dole Lanka have revealed that the unpaid EPF/ETF payments by Southern Force over the years amount to approximately Rs.15 million. Also, Southern Force (Pvt.) Ltd has not paid the value-added tax (VAT) amounting to approximately Rs.25 million, which was collected from Dole Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd. 
As a result, in keeping with the best ethical practices, their international code of conduct and the labour laws of Sri Lanka, Dole Lanka was compelled to terminate its contract with Southern Force. 
However, recognizing the valuable contribution made by the contracted labourers over the years and Dole Lanka’s aspiration to empower the rural communities of Sri Lanka, the company has assured continuous employment for all labourers contracted through Southern Force via one of its other labour outsourcing companies. Over the years, this company has been proven to be reliable in its dealings with Dole Lanka. This company also has a workforce of over 6000 people in different manufacturing and production organisations.