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28 February, 2011
A joint affiliate of the ICEM and the International Textile, Garment, and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF), the Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees’ Union (FTZ&GSEU) of Sri Lanka, is in crucial need of international support, as workers at a branch of the union face severe intimidation by both management and police.
Industrial relations at a women’s underwear factory owned by Canadian-based Bratex Pvt. Ltd. has been bad since managers failed to make scheduled bonus payments due in January 2010. The date coincides with a new human resources director, Dusmantha Kumarasire, coming into the plant.
Following that, there was a long period of FTZ&GSEU asking for dialogue with the company, but with no result. Kumarasire and Bratex continued to avoid negotiations even after the Sri Lanka Board of Investment called for talks.
The salary increment had been agreed to under a Memorandum of Settlement between Bratex and the union before Sri Lanka’s Assistant Commission of Labour on 21 December 2009. But on 16 February 2010, a government official arrived at the plant with armed personnel. Siripala Amarasingha, an assistant to Sri Lanka’s President for labour matters, boasted to textile workers of his record in suppressing 23 labour disputes, and warned workers against involvement in the union.
Amarasingha also instructed management not to avoid the union on salary talks and when this became known, workers took strike action on 18 February 2010. The strike ended when promises – now broken – were made to FTZ&GSEU Joint Secretary Anton Marcus.
Of further abuse to workers, who number 1,000 with 85% of them women, were the floods in May 2010. Many workers found it impossible to travel to work, and Bratex forced to them to work for no compensation for three days, or risk losing salaries and an attendance bonus.
Company-police collusion increased in early January 2011 when officers showed up at a party to identify union activists. Bratex has provided two automobiles to local police, who use them patrol workers’ neighbourhoods and go house to house in pursuit of union activists.
On 11 February, workers went on strike again. Two workers, Amal Santha and U.W. Gayan Predeep Kumara, were detained on 14 February. The arrests prompted a protest by Bratex outside the police station demanding their release. Protesting workers were then attacked by police and three more workers were arrested.
Last week, 20 union activists were sacked inside the plant. The ICEM and ITGLWF are grateful to the Clean Clothes Campaign for assisting Bratex workers in this blatant abuse of trade union rights.
Click here for contact information to send your protest to the Sri Lankan government, police, and Bratex management. Demand an immediate end to harassment of workers by both police and mangers, reinstatement of the dismissed workers, and an immediate start to dialogue to make workers whole for their lost salaries.