Free Trade Zones in Sri Lanka
Country: Sri Lanka | Partner: Free Trade Zone & General Services Employees Union
Aims
- To train and educate workers in Sri Lanka's free trade zones to enable them to claim and protect their basic labour rights. The organisation trains workers on a range of issues including: national labour laws; occupational health and safety at work; conflict resolution and employer negotiation; workplace organising; and women's participation in the trade union movement.
- To raise awareness among workers of the ILO Collective Bargaining and Freedom of Association Conventions, which have been ratified by Sri Lanka, and ensure that the Sri Lankan government introduces legislation to implement the principles of these Conventions.
- To campaign and lobby the Sri Lankan government to prioritise basic human and labour rights.
Successes
- The FTZ&GSEU has worked with the ILO in Sri Lanka to improve and strengthen relations between employers, the Sri Lankan government and trade unions.
- The trade union mobilises factory activists to participate in regular public rallies and demonstrations demanding government and employers enforce and improve labour rights policy and legislation.
- The FTZ&GSEU has produced a range of successful training materials for sweatshop workers, including a video explaining the principles of ILO Conventions and what they mean for free trade zone workers.
- The FTZ&GSEU has helped secure collective bargaining agreements that have improved pay and working conditions for workers.
- In January 2010, after a long-term campaign led by FTZ&GSEU, the Ministry of Labour agreed to a Rs 2,500 increase in salary for free trade zones and private sector workers.
Facts
- Roughly 250,000 workers are employed in 14 free trade zones across Sri Lanka.
- The minimum salary for free trade workers is Rs 6,700 Rupees per month (approximately £37), compared to Rs 11,630 (£65) for public sector workers.
- Women make up 80% of the total number of workers in Sri Lanka's free trade zones, with the majority having migrated to industrial areas from rural areas.
- Sri Lanka exports 13% of its commodities to the UK market, more than any country apart from the US (23%).
- Industrial products account for 74% of Sri Lanka's exports, the majority of which are textiles and garments.
The Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees Union (FTZ&GSEU) is leading the campaign for the rights of workers in Sri Lanka's free trade zones. The trade union fights on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of workers employed in free trade zones, exerting pressure on local, national and international bodies for improvements in wages and working conditions. The FTZ&GSEU also seeks to empower factory workers through training and outreach, with a focus on raising awareness of the ILO Conventions.
Beginning in the late 1970s, free trade zones were promoted in Sri Lanka as essential to economic development. These specially designated manufacturing areas were set up to attract foreign investment to the country with the promise of low or non-existent taxes. As a further incentive to corporations, Sri Lankan authorities also took measures to prevent the unionisation of free trade zone workers.
The creation of Sri Lankan free trade zones, especially in the textile and clothing sector, has had disastrous consequences for Sri Lanka's workers. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the factories in these industrial areas fail to respect basic labour rights and have led to job insecurity, declining working conditions and downward pressure on wages.
Since its founding in 1982, the FTZ&GSEU has worked diligently to fight against violations of labour rights in the workplace and the government's attempts at suppressing workers' rights and freedom of association. With 16,000 members in 22 branches, the FTZ-GSEU is the largest trade union in Sri Lanka. The FTZ&GSEU focuses on supporting female workers, who are far more vulnerable to labour rights abuses. Women currently make up 60% of FTZ&GESU's membership. More broadly, the trade union monitors the implementation and impact of ILO Conventions on Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining.
War on Want is proud to work in partnership with the FTZ&GSEU, and supports its work fighting for the rights Sri Lankans who struggle to make a living in free trade zones.
| Read more about the work of FTZ&GSEU at their website |
