EFC DG appointed to ILO Governing Body Standards Review Mechanism

Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) Director-General/CEO Kanishka Weerasinghe was recently appointed to the Standards Review Mechanism (SRM) Tripartite Working Group (TWG) that functions under the aegis of the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). 

The appointment was made during the 330th Session of the ILO Governing Body following the conclusion of the 106th International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva. 

Weerasinghe joins a panel comprising seven other experts in labour law and industrial relations from around the world representing employers.

In addition to the above appointment, he was also elected as a substitute Governing Body member representing the employers in the Asia Pacific region. The appointment is a recognition of Sri Lankan legal expertise as a whole and as Weerasinghe noted “specifically of the EFC due to its contribution to the world of work issues over the years.”

The SRM-TWG operates within the context of the ILO Director General’s standards initiative and is one of the four main committees/working parties functioning under the ILO’s Governing Body. 
The SRM, as Weerasinghe explained, is vested with the responsibility of reviewing the entire body of labour standards for the purpose of making them robust and responsive to the constantly changing patterns of the world of work. It consists of sixteen governments, eight employer legal experts and a similar number of legal experts representing workers.

The EFC DG brings with his expertise in industrial relations, productivity, human resource, skills development, migration, etc. He presently serves several national advisory bodies, including the National Labour Advisory Council as well as Migration and Development. He is also a board member of the Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) and National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA).