Multiplicity of Trade Unions: Issues and Challenges in Sri Lanka

The history of trade unionism in Sri Lanka dates back to 1890s when the first formal organization of employees emerged. With the enactment of the Trade Unions Ordinance in 1935 employees got the opportunity to legally register their trade union. However, since then politicization and multiplicity have crippled the entire trade union movement. The author identifies the desire of the political parties to popularize their political agenda and the loopholes in the legal framework on trade unions as the two most significant causes for this situation. The evidence also proves that multiplicity is significant in the public sector than in the private sector. Multiplicity of trade unions also hampers the principle of collective bargaining as it reduces the trade union membership density.