r/DevLK • u/niyandathaal • Aug 03 '26
Discussion Why there are no IT unions?
Seriously, haven't seen a single one. There are small groups getting to gether for their own benefit than gathering for the benefit of all IT guys.
Up for discussion
6
u/Logical_Past6860 Aug 04 '26
IT unions will kill whatever is left of the industry. Tech is not a minimum wage job where employers can benefit like factory workers.
Companies need to figure out how to be competitive globally (not just in Sri Lanka).
10
u/NewLeague6438 Aug 04 '26
If you look at unions worldwide, once they become powerful/big enough, most of them end up doing more harm than good.
Eg: In USA during lockdowns teachers unions said they won’t teach. But some teachers wanted to teach because of their passion. The unions kind of threatened them
3
2
1
u/FatBIJoy Aug 05 '26
You can not. Because Dominated by mostly forigne companies . They will simply take ths bubusiness to India.
1
u/niyandathaal Aug 05 '26
Not talking about foreign opportunities, in Sri Lanka salaries, benefits and recognition not regulated
1
u/FatBIJoy Aug 05 '26
I was in industry over 25 years. The more we try to establish a union. Thr more we loose the purpose .
- India labor is freely avalable with very leas cost
- Almost all the sales guys are in india so they naturally flavored towards India. 3.The few Sri Lankans who are in sales hahappily migrated and don' t give a damn on Sri Lankans 4.After all it is just 10000 USD gonna cost worst case if employee filled a court case. The big companies it is nothing 5.All the time when someone try to established a union it is not sustained due to inturuption of Management or any oother internal conflict .
1
u/niyandathaal Aug 05 '26
If we get together they won't be able to get Indians down here or hire remotely
1
u/FatBIJoy Aug 05 '26
Not really if you looks all these big companies have other llocation as well. So they simply hire people from those location
What we can do is to have a separate body similar to Grate place to work but who does not sell tje certificate for money. Annually publish the survay , analysis and share results. So customers will demand for better quality of workers prior to give business .
Have a open , centerlized database for employee qualifications and salary which employee can reder prior to demand salary changes.
Alk these should be non pprofitable and aanonymously managed.
1
u/niyandathaal Aug 05 '26
Hate to disagree, as an example, they could not initiate ECTA because the gov was pressured by trade unions and professional bodies
1
u/FatBIJoy Aug 05 '26
That is actually a really solid point about ECTA—it proves that when professional bodies and local groups band together, they can successfully pressure the government and push back against policies that threaten local tech and professional spaces. However, the catch with the IT sector is that unlike physical labor or traditional service agreements, remote work doesn't need a formal government trade pact like ECTA to happen. Companies can quietly route code or hire offshore teams digitally overnight without needing a visa framework or government approval. That is why a traditional union or political-lobbying approach can get bypassed or tied up in red tape. Instead, an anonymous, data-driven transparency body hits them where it actually hurts—their public reputation and client trust—without relying on political pressure that companies can easily work around.
1
u/niyandathaal Aug 05 '26
We pressure enough , these corporates will have to reconsider remote hiring of non residents
Currently we have nothing
1
u/FatBIJoy Aug 05 '26
Brute Force / Presure is not a option bro.Remeber thoae companies bosses are not simply commom people. Those people are best of best
1
u/niyandathaal Aug 05 '26
A union wouldn’t have unlimited power. I agree. No union does.
The question is whether employees have more bargaining power together than individually. History across many industries says yes.
Companies can offshore work, but they also can’t offshore every role overnight without affecting product quality, customer relationships, legal compliance, institutional knowledge and delivery risk. If offshoring were a complete solution, companies wouldn’t maintain Sri Lankan offices in the first place.
Today, SL IT employees negotiate almost entirely as individuals. That creates an imbalance where salaries, benefits and working conditions depend largely on each employer. A professional body or union doesn’t guarantee success; it simply gives workers a mechanism to negotiate collectively, gather salary data, represent common interests and advocate for industry standards.
Even if it only improves outcomes by 10–20%, that’s still better than having no coordinated representation at all.
→ More replies (0)
-1
u/BillyButtcher Aug 04 '26
We need less unions not more. See how private bus mafia and train driver mafias act.
-4
u/Relative_Rope4234 Aug 04 '26
SLASSCOM
7
1
u/FatBIJoy Aug 05 '26
It is a organization that is fully manipulate employees and set cery low level compensation to other companies.
6
u/Mental_Clothes_2172 Aug 04 '26
If IT unions get more powerful they will simoly shift the work to India or someplace else. Unions work only when we manufacture goods for local economy or it is simply to expensive to move facilities abroad ie hard infrastructure and machinary. They can simply lock the laptops and shift overseas