In this issue

The decline of trade unions is exaggerated

Trade unions attract members who have lost out; often men who are unskilled and with few prospects for advancement. The emergence of services as the fastest-growing economic sector, growing self-employment and a preference for part-time work have diminished the importance of trade unions. However, in Sri Lanka, the decline of the union is exaggerated.
In a couple of months, engineers, train drivers, doctors and others have all threatened or resorted to industrial action. Worryingly, union action hasn’t focused on a narrow agenda of entrenching positions, but sought sweeping changes to public policy.
Policy impacts everyone, not just unionized labour. Attempts to reverse Sri Lanka’s eroding competitive position has required urgent policy fixes. Free trade agreements being negotiated with China, Thailand and India, and one signed with Singapore, include not just goods, but trade in services and investment.
Trade unions with the power to launch crippling industrial action are concentrated in the government. Doctors, railway employees and electricity engineers are leading these disruptions.
Two things have pushed unions back into the limelight. The fear of change and its impact on jobs, and the government’s low credibility have left a vacuum that unions now occupy. Unlike elected representatives, unions are unaccountable to the people, and their overbearing influence on economic reforms is dangerous.

Echelon Magazine Description:

Intelligent Storytelling

The one thing that will define the Echelon magazine will be the quality of the storytelling. Echelon,published monthly, will cover in depth Sri Lanka’s most successful businesses, examine their winning strategiesand profile their leaders in immersive stories. Great stories are also never limited to words, and our approach includes rich photography, bold graphics and leading edge design which together will make for a compelling read.

But business doesn’t start and end in a boardroom;it extends to the golf club greens, to international travel and to pursuits that blurthe lines between commercial venture and sheer passion. The Echelon team will present the best in business and lifestyle coverage that will appeal to an exclusive and affluent readership: an otherwise hard to reach demographic.

Content will be developed by one of the most experienced and proven teams of editors, financial journalists, photographers and designers in the country.This team has already raised the bar for powerful and expertly crafted business news. Shamindra Kulamannage, will lead the editorial team.

The reputation of Echelon is being built on the separation between editorial and advertising. However we are also looking for the most creative and impactful new formats that can be applied in our magazines, iPad app as well as website to help our clients reach our audience. We are flexible and creative and we will have a solution for every single advertiser who wants to reach our audience.

We are passionate about creative results and about working with our advertisers to help them create bespoke multi platform creative solutions with our in house creative team and of course our sales team.

Echelon will be a great place to show off the products and capabilities of our clients because they will be surrounded by an editorial product that is expertly crafted, full of integrity and intelligence.