Oh! God, did you write to the God of human rights as well?

Very Dear Member of Tamil Alliance,

i read that you have written a letter to the government requesting 'to immediately stop building Buddhists Shrines in the Northern and Eastern part of the Island.

Have you copied the same letter to the UN Human Rights agents? i am sure you have sir, but in the same letter did you ask the government to remove  or stop building any other Hindu Shrines in the other parts, e.g. NCP, Central, Southern etc of the island as well? i saw someone or a group or a responsible building a very new Shrine building  between Maradana and Colombo Fort. did you hear anyone writing or holding a banner or a poster before the shrine asking not to build it?

Thank you for reading.

The batten stick

a few days back, on a front page of a daily paper,  i saw a picture of a big officer raising a large stick against some women. 

Beating women, physically or psychologically is something you & i must hate. 

i didn't read the news clip, in a way it is good because the names of the person involved, i do not know. i am not interested in knowing either. it is good because i can freely concentrate only on the incident when writing this essay, without trying to memorize the face of the person. But i must say i felt really sad about the women affected. 

The officer must know that there are people beaten very many, several ways here and there of the world. 

If a person raise even a single finger against 'poor' or against any social or cultural segment known or recognized as 'beaten class' or poor or what ever term you use to highlight them or introduce them, is not a crime but is a unforgivable sin. 

Do you know how some earn their living, not only in this country but also around globe? 

Some men and women beaten by socio- economic, political and otherwise injustices across globe and that isn't something applicable only to this part of the world, region. 

I didn't like the stick, 'the batten stick' that the police officers used in the past. 

Is it something banned by now, because i have not seen any police officers wearing it with the uniform. 

What was the purpose of giving the police officers the batten sticks?  

The batten sticks, no officer uses to apply oil or for something else. 

It is a stick given for them to hammer or beat wrong doers.

How do you define 'wrong doers'?, the book of law provide us descriptions.

It was a stick lawfully handed over to the police officers in the past? 

The law explains, in some pages of the books of the laws, unless a decision given after hearing a verdict, suspect is not a criminal and in some other pages it says that 'every human creature should be treated humanly' not harshly and mustn't torture. 

human rightly speaking , the police station should be the first place where any man or a women can be entered with no fear in their minds, specially when seeking for some justice. 

Crime , i am not going to think meaning of the term or legal definition of the term. 

If the police can identify the things leading to crime, the police must take actions to eliminate those issues other than trying to beat the 'beaten' or those who were already beaten various ways by various socio-economic etc. 

The police officers are 'Peace facilitators' and are not the group established to spread or improve or encourage crimes. 

If a person raise a knife or a pen or a voice against something beating them in everyday lives, even as self defense mechanism or as something to protect their and of others reputation, there is a little chance that he or she gets protection from the law, i believe because 'money is the king' of this world, not abilities or skills or honesty of a person. 

The money has become the most powerful thing of the world, sadly. But what do you find, written in big books of laws, human rights?

The human rights laws. behind every law fact written in books there is a right behind it. 

the term 'Human rights' has become a joke by now. Most people across world by now consider  the term human rights is something that is applicable only to certain class of people not for poor or women, sadly. 

But those who were beaten or ill treated cannot be identified easily not only because they go and file case against 'the relevant' but also because of the 'psycho-physical ailment or hazard called 'law blindness', according to my level of awareness.

If the world say that the law treat everyone equally is a bullshit. 

If you have money, oh yeah, you are treated equally and brilliantly by law. 

The lawyers are expensive, one mustn't forget, the poor treated the way that the rich want cannot hire a lawyer to earn some justice other than praying the 'God'

Who introduced the batten stick, by the way? the law must try to arrest the law who has introduced batten stick type tools encouraging the police officers to beat so called 'wrong doers'.

If there are no punishments explained in books 'e.g. if a person take a bribe he should eligible for minimum 100 batten stick punishment. 

There is a conflict between the way law describe laws or punishments, and the protective or guardian tools given to them to 'protect law and order of the society from crime and other issues. 

There are ways how the law justify things in this world. One can say that the batten sticks are given for them for 'self defensive mechanism purposes, am i incorrect here? 

If a group of really poor people (no politicians involved) decided to organize a rally against 'gas price rise', what do you do? sending tear gas tanks or sending some constables with batten sticks? Because for politicians and for certain economic class , gas price rise' or bacon price rise is something nothing but for poor, if you raise bread or rice even from a 20/= is a big issue.

If they eat bread everyday, Rs.20x30= 600/= rupees they will have to earn 600 hundred rupees extra every day to feed their children.

From 12 mid night today, the prices of milk powder that you purchased so far for about 320/= rupees (400 gram packet) will be increased by 50/= according to some sources.  if you give cow and gate for your kids, or cow's milk, how does it affect your monthly expenditure, if you belong to middle, middle class or poor class?

Is your batten stick polished and ready? 

A salary with some respect

Salary or a payment, an individual do not get or receive for free but as a pre fixed rate for the labour contributed or service provided. Unlike in the past, today, you do not hear of workers get a bit of food and a torn cloth for the labour contributed.

From ‘slavery’ of miserable an unforgiving past to the post of labourer or wage labourer or any other category of job of workers, white colar or other positions recognized by today’s world, secured and protected by rules and regulations implemented time to time. The employers and the workers are whether they like it or not are force to follow the rules and regulations popularly or lawfully known as ‘labour rules’, mentioned in the books of laws.

Amongst the rules and regulations already in practice (?) worldwide, THE SALARY of a worker was something that was given very much attention when fixing or preparing laws, other than explaining other benefits that they should or must get along with the basic salary.

The salary according to the laws or rules and regulations should be paid ‘accurately calculating the number of hours that a worker contribute their labour or work per day, week, or a month, including or excluding ‘public or bank holidays and inevitably the rules and regulations applicable for the basic salary too.  

Every worker should be paid their salary according to the existing labour rules and regulations local or international and this is something that almost every employer of today know or aware of, except very few, unfortunately or do not respect or care about.

According to the current laws a worker should work 8 hours a day including tea and lunch break(?) and every hour exceed eight hours of work are considered as ‘overtime work’ and for every hour that the worker work as ‘over time work’ should be paid according to the laws. There are fixed rates that the law describes, how a worker should be paid for their overtime hours.

Other than the letter of contract, there is another document that a worker should receive that is known as ‘pay slip’ and is a document secure the dignity and honour of both the employer and the employee for various reasons. In a pay slip there are facts that the employer must include or mention. Except few workers, most workers are aware of these things, I believe. Some do not fight against those who do not provide what laws explains fearing of losing their jobs. Again it is a matter of workers’ lack of awareness of labour rules and regulations. Following is a model of a pay slip.

·       The name of the company

·       The name of the worker

·       Age

Earnings

·       The basic salary (Rs.)

·       The number of hours worked a week or a month

·       Over time hours worked (on normal days and on special or on other public days)

·       Rate (Rs.)

·       Cost of Living allowance

·       Incentives (attendance etc.)

·       Bonuses

·       Compensations paid , if any

·       For leave not taken

Deductions

·       EPF (employer’s provident fund)

·       ETF (Employer’s Trust Fund)

·       Salary advance

·       Loans etc.

·       Insurance

·       Leave taken (other than sick, annual leave described in law)

·       Other

Total earnings

The Pay Slip that a worker receives from his or her employer may vary depending on the agreement made between two parties and the employer’s vision and mission over his/her ‘enterprise/services providing.’

Due to the existing competition in the job market, between entrepreneurs/enterprises most employers try to provide maximum benefit for their workers yet a very few you may find do not care about any of the above mentioned. Still, in this modern and educated world, there are workers do not receive contract letters, pay slips, etc as mentioned in the book of labor laws.

If we find employers who do not think or know that the worker who serves them is taking , getting or receiving their payments not for free or as a donation but after contributing their labour for hours and hours and days and days of a month, is an issue or an issue that we must think of solving sooner not later for the sake of not only of the worker but also of the future and good name of the company, enterprise, of the service gainers as well and also as a whole, for a world free from ‘full and total slavery and for the peace of mind of the worker’.

Kindly give your worker the salary they earned with facing all the obstacles known or unknown to you, when handling the service gainers or providing the service at least with a smile, kindly do not keep the salary on your table for them to take and do not ask your worker ’come take this’ with a horrible disrespect voice or in a unkind manner.

A worker you have is an important asset, resource, and they are the soul contributors of the profit you earn and spend for the comforts of your family, current or future investments, for your child’s education, carrier development and their marriages, I believe, dear sirs and madams.   

On this May Day I wish all employers and employees a peaceful working future and profitable future.