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South Asia Coalition
Fired at Fruit of the Loom supplier
In Colombo, the Bratex factory produces underwear for Fruit of the Loom and Viania. Workers have been intimidated, and 31 trade union leaders have been arrested and fired after a legal strike in 2011, which broke out after management failed to respond to workers’ concerns about wages and freedom of association.
Workwear workers dismissed
In 2005, 518 workers, almost all of them women, took part in a strike at the Sri Lankan GP Garments factory demanding their festival bonus as promised by the factory management. They were subsequently dismissed without the correct procedures being followed. Thirty-seven of them are facing legal procedures, with a high court verdict still pending.
Holiday to sabotage union referendum
Following the registration of their union at the Mirrai factory, union members have been intimidated and transferred. When the union asked for a referendum to establish its right to be a collective bargaining agent for the workers, the management declared the day of the referendum a holiday and intimidated the workers.
Three years on: still no settlement
In 2009 workers at the Bratex factory in Colombo went on strike. Their concerns over wages and freedom of association were not addressed by the management. Following the strike 31 union activists were dismissed without the required procedures. Throughout 2013 CCC has demanded that the Fair Labor Association and Fruit of the Loom ensure that Bratex will sign an agreement with the union on the reinstatement of the workers.
Thousands of workers left jobless
6,000 workers were left jobless after three factories in Sri Lanka and two in Pakistan were closed. The sole owner of the five factories disappeared with all of the company’s assets. In March 2013 the Clean Clothes Campaign reached out to several European buyers.
Dismissals instead of pay rise
After the refusal of management to pay agreed-upon half-yearly salary increments, workers at the Palla & Co footwear factory in the Western province of Sri Lanka organised in a factory-level union. However, the management refused to engage in negotiations. Following subsequent workers’ protests, the factory management suspended fifteen union officials in November 2013 and dismissed 179 union members in December 2013.
Long-awaited victory
The Clean Clothes Campaign is relieved that the union has reached a settlement with Bratex and Fruit of the Loom in July 2014, after more than three years. The settlement covers all outstanding issues of reinstatement, compensation, withdrawal of criminal charges and a guarantee that freedom of association will be respected in the Sri Lankan underwear factory.
Deadly lunch at supplier NEXT
On 4 September 2014, workers at the NEXT factory in Colombo, Sri Lanka were taken ill with food poisoning. Over 200 workers were admitted to a nearby hospital, where one female worker died on 7 September.
Bata dodging responsibility
More than a year after the dismissal of 179 workers at the Palla & Co. footwear factory, the main buyer Bata has refused to meaningfully engage in the resolution of the labour rights conflict.
BLOG - It's time for global clothing brands to defend Sri Lankan workers
Sri Lanka’s yearlong economic and political crisis, which led to the president being toppled last year, is unsurprisingly hitting the country’s lowest-paid workers hardest.
Don't blame the whistle-blower: Mirrai responsible for loss of orders
Clean Clothes Campaign and IndustriALL reproach the Employers' Federation of Ceylon for lashing out at the trade union FTZGSEU.
Brands and management fail to resolve Bratex dispute
CCC calls on Bratex management and buyers Fruit of the Loom and Viania to resolve a dispute in the factory, which has been ongoing for more than two years. Sri Lankan supplier Bratex has yet to come to an agreement with workers, meaning 31 workers remain without jobs, and workers' demands in relation to wages, bonuses and freedom of association have still not been met. The year long investigation of the Fair Labor Association FLA has failed to produce any results.
Victory: settlement with underwear factory Bratex
We are pleased to announce that the Sri Lankan Free Trade Zone and General Services Employees Union (FTZ&GSEU) reached a settlement with the underwear factory Bratex and the US based company Fruit of the Loom.
Bata refuses to step up for the people who made their shoes
Shoe company Bata refuses to take any responsibility for the resolution of a labour rights conflict arising at the factory Palla & Co., a Sri Lankan shoe factory. Workers say its owner repeatedly refused to pay workers an agreed upon pay rise. Bata, who was sourcing from the factory at the time of the labour conflict, cut its commercial relationship with Palla & Co. in late 2013.
Swiss shoe giant falls into disrepute: Dismissals instead of pay rise at former Bata supplier in Sri Lanka
A year ago today, close to 200 workers were dismissed at the Sri Lankan shoe factory Palla & Co following union activities and protests over outstanding wage increments. At that time, the factory had mainly been producing for Bata. Instead of engaging in the resolution of the labor rights conflict, the formerly Czech enterprise now head-quartered in Switzerland is shirking its responsibility.
Join our action: Tell Bata to stop cut-and-run Sri Lanka
Bata admits to a cut-and-run after a conflict in one of the factories in Sri Lanka which made their shoes. One year ago, close to 200 workers were fired after they complained about not getting their salary increases. Join our action, tell Bata on facebook and rate Bata on their own rating page: http://on.fb.me/1sc8n9w
CCC urge EU to address Sri Lanka's labour violations prior to re-admission GSP+
Clean Clothes Campaign, IndustriALL Global Union and the International Trade Union Confederation urge the European Union to adopt a roadmap for Sri Lanka with time-bound measures to comply with the ILO core conventions before the country can benefit from GSP+. Sri Lanka is currently in serious breach of those conventions.
Sri Lankan trade union victory shows power of international solidarity
International support and solidarity can make a real difference in local worker struggles shows this week’s success in Sri Lanka. In a workers’ referendum in two factories with a long history of conflict between employees and management, workers voted to have the trade union recognized as legitimate bargaining partner. In the face of years of intense union busting, this testifies to the empowering nature of international solidarity, called in by the trade union.
Focus on labour rights in Sri Lanka prior to the decision on preferential trade access to the EU market
Two Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) visited Sri Lanka to evaluate respect for labour rights prior to the European Union's decision on granting Sri Lanka the so-called GSP+ preferential trade access. During the visit the government committed to labour rights improvements, such as progress on ongoing cases, allowing trade union access to export processing zones, a revision of the labour law and of the union threshold (currently at 40%), and ensuring that the benefits of the preferential trade status would be shared with the workers.
Hundreds of women workers part of longest running strike in the Katunayake Investment Promotion Zone
Workers from workwear manufacturing company ATG Ceylon Pvt Ltd. in Sri Lanka have been subject to a range of human rights abuses breaching both Sri Lankan and international labour laws and conventions.
COVID-19 continues to ravage the health and livelihoods of garment workers
The global COVID-19 pandemic continues to grow and spread. Half of the world’s population is under some form of lock-down or movement restriction in order to control the spread of the novel coronavirus. Garment workers in global supply chains, who already grapple with poverty wages and precarious living situations, face increasing insecurity as factories close in response to steep drops in orders and as governments shut down manufacturing to protect public health.
A union rights win for Next workers in Sri Lanka!
After months of fighting for Next to formally recognise the Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees Unions branch union within the Next Manufacturing Ltd (NML) factory, workers from the NML factory in Sri Lanka have finally secured victory. We celebrate with all the workers who have fought for their right to join a union and refused to give up in face of a reluctant management.
New union-employer agreement in Sri Lanka addresses key worker rights issues
Today, garment worker unions in Sri Lanka have signed a ground-breaking agreement with employer association Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) in which both parties reached an understanding about how to address vital workplace issues for garment workers, especially during the pandemic.
Over 50 organisations call on brands, governments and employers in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to keep workers safe
Garment workers' lives are put at risk by exempting workers from lockdown measures and making them work at full capacity in garment factories to meet orders of brands headquartered in countries with high vaccination rates. Currently we see this unfolding in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh during the wave of the delta variant. Over 50 organisations from around the world are urging brands, governments, and employers to take immediate action.