The first ever National Cooperative Policy is expected to be ready by November. The policy, guided by International Labour Organizationโs R193 recommendations, has been in the works for the last 10 years.
โWith the progress of todayโs Conference, I call to complete the policy by next monthโ said the Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen on 27 September. Minister Bathiudeen was addressing the Cooperative Ministersโ Conference held at BMICH on 27 September. Among those joining were Secretary to Ministry of Industry and Commerce Chinthaka Lokuhetti and Additional Secretary (Food and Cooperatives) Malkanthi Ekanayake, Cooperative Ministers from the Provincial Councils and various cooperative officials from the Provinces.ย Provincial Ministers too presented their suggestions for the finalisation of the national policy on 27 September.
โWith the progress of todayโs Conference, I call for the completion of the National Cooperative Policy by next month. I thank all the Provincial Cooperative Ministers and the ILO for the support given to usโ said Minister Bathiudeen.
The draft policy is a result of many rounds of previous consultations held with the Provincial Ministers and cooperative members. ILO has been continuously supporting the formulation of Sri Lankaโs national coop policy. The new Policy focuses on sustainable development of the sector, investments, updating of legal framework, new infrastructure and overall modernisation of the sector.
Sri Lankaโs cooperatives movement that started 112 years ago. There are almost 14500 cooperatives-in various productions services, SMEs, womenโs development, rural banking, insurance and farming sectors-active in Sri Lanka. Through โCoop Cityโ shops, cooperatives are also now present in the countryโs FMCG retail sector.
ILO, the only tripartite U.N. agency, brings together governments, employers and workers from 187 member States to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes, promoting โdecent workโ for all.
Leader of All Ceylon Makkal Congress