Sri Lanka (2)

Title of the survey

Wages Board Survey on average earnings and hours of work

Organization responsible

The Department of Labour is responsible for planning and conducting the survey, and the Department of Census and Statistics publishes the results.

Periodicity of the survey

Twice a year, with reference to March and September.

Objectives of the survey

To compare the average earnings and hours of work of employees covered by the Wages Board Ordinance. 36 Wages Boards are covered.

Main labour topics covered by the survey

Earnings, hours of work and employment.

Reference period

The full month of March or September.

Coverage of the survey

Geographical

The whole country.

Industrial

All economic activities covered by the Wages Board Ordinance, i.e. tea growing and manufacturing; rubber growing and manufacturing; coconut growing; tea export; rubber export; motor transport; coconut manufacturing; printing; engineering; match manufacturing; cinema trade; building trade; baking; hotel and catering; batik trade; security services; rubber and plastic goods trade; brick and tile manufacturing; biscuits and confectionery trade; nursing homes; cocoa, cardamom and pepper growing and manufacturing; coir mattress and bristle fibre export; garment manufacturing; textile trade; hosiery manufacturing; ice and aerated water manufacturing; paddy hulling; journalist trade; leather footwear, leather goods manufacturing; liquor and vinegar; tobacco; cigar manufacture; beedi manufacture; retail and wholesale trade.

Establishments

Establishments with five or more paid employees in the private sector.

Persons

Employees covered under the Wages Board Ordinance, i.e. wage earners, including apprentices, trainees, casual workers, workers sub-contracted from other companies or firms, workers from temporary work agencies, temporary and seasonal workers and part-time workers, employees on paid vacation or paid sick leave. Excluded from the scope of the surveys are salaried employees, working proprietors, working directors, commission agents, homeworkers and persons absent for reasons other than paid vacation or paid sick leave.

Occupations

All occupations of employees covered by the Wages Board Ordinance are covered.

Concepts and definitions

Employment

The data refer to the number of wage earners who are actually working in the establishment and receiving wages during the reference month, including those who are absent on paid leave or paid sick leave. The data are collected separately for time-rated workers and piece-rated workers and according to the class or category of workers (level of skill, qualification, etc.), depending on the activity.

Earnings

The data relate to gross earnings before any deductions and including allowances, overtime, payments made for excess work, etc. They cover direct wages, remuneration for time not worked and earnings in kind in the form of food and drink. Irregularly paid bonuses and gratuities are excluded. Separate data are collected for time-rated and piece-rated workers and according to the class or category of workers, depending on the activity.

Wage/salary rates

Not relevant.

Hours of work

The information refers to hours paid for, including time spent at the place of work during which no work is done because workers are waiting or standing by due to mechanical or electrical breakdown, lack of supply of materials or clients or bad weather; time spent at the place of work during which no work is done but for which payments is made under a guaranteed employment contract; time corresponding to short rest periods at the workplace; study or training periods; and hours for paid leave, such as for vacation, public holiday, sickness or accident, occupational injury or disease, maternity leave, personal leave (for birth, marriage, family responsibilities, etc.).

International recommendations

The definition of earnings of wage earners covers regular payments in cash and in kind, and conforms to the international recommendations on the measurement of current earnings. The definition of hours of work corresponds to the concept of hours paid for.

Classifications

Industrial

The data on earnings and hours of work are classified according to the 36 activities of the Wages Board Ordinance. These activities can be linked to the industry groups of the International Standard Industrial Classification of all economic activities (ISIC), Rev. 2, 1968.

Occupational

For certain activities, data are classified according to the individual occupations covered by the Wages Boards.

Others

The data on earnings and hours of work are also classified by:

sex;
class or category of work (e.g. level of skill, grade).

Sample size and design

Statistical unit

The reporting unit is the establishment, defined as a farm, estate, mine, factory, workshop, store, office, business place, restaurant, shop, etc., under a single ownership or control, located at one place or contiguous area and engaged in one or predominantly one kind of economic activity.

Survey universe / sample frame

This consists of the list of establishments used for the Annual Employment Survey, excluding public sector establishments; among these establishments, only those covered by Wages Boards constitute the frame.

Sample design

The survey covers selected establishments with five or more paid employees for each Wages Board. However, some Wages Boards do not have a sufficient number of establishments for inclusion in the sample (e.g. in match manufacturing: six establishments for the whole country; in glass manufacturing, two establishments only). The sample covers about 0.5 percent of all establishments.

Field work

Data collection

This takes place during April and October each year, by means of mailed questionnaires. The survey organization comprises the staff of the Statistics Division of the Department of Labour.

Survey questionnaire

This comprises the following:

a letter explaining the purpose of the survey, in which respondents are asked to return the completed form within two weeks;
summary instructions, describing how each type of data should be estimated and reported;
separate tables for each activity covered by the Wages Boards, in which data are collected as follows with respect to time-rated and piece-rated workers, and for each class or category of worker:
- number of days of work offered during the month;
- number of workers on the payroll during the month;
- total number of days worked during the month;
- total number of hours worked during the month, including overtime and hours paid for but not worked;
- total earnings, including all allowances, overtime payments, etc.
information about the establishment (name, address, number of normal working days: week days, Saturdays).

Substitution of sampling units

Not relevant.

Data processing and editing

Data are edited and processed by hand; there is no coding. Reminder letters are sent to non-responding establishments and whenever possible they are contacted by telephone.

Types of estimates

Average earnings per hour, day and month, and average hours of work per day and month. The total number of days worked during the month is obtained by multiplying the number of wage earners in each category by the number of days worked during the reference month, including sick and other paid leave periods. In the case of piece-rated workers, the reported number of days worked is computed irrespective of the number of hours worked. Average earnings and hours of work are obtained by dividing total earnings and hours of work for each category of wage earners by the corresponding number of workers.

Construction of indices

No index numbers are computed.

Weighting of sample results

The survey results are not weighted.

Adjustments

Non-response

There is no adjustment for non-response.

Other bias

No adjustments are made for any other bias.

Use of benchmark data

None.

Seasonal variations

The survey results are not adjusted for seasonal variations.

Indicators of reliability of the estimates

Coverage of the sampling frame

This is limited to establishments covered by the Wages Board Ordinance.

Sampling error / sampling variance

Not relevant.

Non-response rate

This ranges between 8 and 10 percent in terms of establishments.

Non-sampling errors

Not known.

Conformity with other sources

There is no other source for these types of data.

Available series

Published tables include the average number of hours paid for per month and average earnings per month, by class or category of worker and sex, for each of the Wages Board Trades.

History of the survey

The survey began in 1965. Its coverage has been increased from time to time as new Wages Board Trades have been established.

Documentation

Department of Census and Statistics: Statistical Abstract of Sri Lanka (annual, Colombo). Detailed results that do not appear in the national publication can be made available on request.

Confidentiality / Reliability criteria

There are no restrictions on the publication of the survey results, except that data in respect of a single establishment cannot be released.

Other information

Data supplied to the ILO for publication

Data on average hours paid for of wage earners are published in Tables 11, 12A, 14 and 15 of the Yearbook Labour Statistics, and data on average hourly and daily earnings of wage earners appear in Tables 16, 17A, 19, 20 and 21. Statistics of average earnings and hours paid for, for selected occupations and industries, are also published in Statistics on occupational wages and hours of work and on food prices - October Inquiry results, a special supplement to the Bulletin of Labour Statistics.

Other sources of data

Statistics of average minimum wage rates which are published in Tables 16, 17A, 19 and 20 of the ILO Yearbook of Labour Statistics are computed on the basis of minimum daily or monthly wage rates fixed by the Commissioner of Labour, under the Wages Board Ordinance and Collective Agreement. They refer to minimum rates stipulated by Law, which are revised at different intervals (some of them monthly, others at longer intervals).