Call # 263 October 2003

The issue of free trade zones is essential for workers rights throughout the world. In addition to the privileges officially granted to firms, the "advantage" of these zones is often that they fall under no law. Attempts by workers - mostly women - to improve their working conditions and to organize are ignored or severely repressed. Sri Lanka with its export-oriented industrial parks is a classic example, where the free trade zone model spread throughout the country in 1992. In Sri Lanka the daily action of the FTZWU (Free Trade Zone Workers Union) to support employees, especially in the textile industry, is regularly undermined by multinationals or government institutions. Today, the FTZWU is facing stalemate at the Jaqalanka Ltd. factory, the scene of an intimidation campaign this summer. However, the most highly motivated workers have stood their ground and may just win the battle. International mobilization is particularly important because of the symbolic value of this case in the country.

Jaqalanka Ltd. is a production site for several North American clothing firms. The conflict under way started when management wanted to cancel the traditional new year’s bonus, usually paid in April. On 4 April 2003, after a half-day stoppage, 220 of the 400 workers formed a branch of the FTZWU and elected their representatives. Retaliation was immediate and the next day they were prohibited from entering the premises. A letter signed by 166 workers was then sent to the company management calling for their reinstatement and confirming their engagement in trade union action. On 7 April management demanded a letter of excuse in which the unionists admitted to having organized an illegal strike. They refused. In the end they were allowed to resume work the next day, after handing the company a compromise letter in which they expressed their "regrets" for any damage caused by their action.

A BIASED REFERENDUM

The Jaqalanka Ltd. management nevertheless continued to deny the existence of a trade union organization and therefore to refuse any negotiation on working conditions. Pressure on the workers was multiplied, including by the government body responsible for administering the free trade zones. During a meeting at the labour ministry the firm was able to obtain a ruling that recognition for the FTZWU branch had to be subject to a referendum. In that referendum the union would have to prove its representativeness by obtaining 40% of the votes - the percentage of unionists required by the law for a union to be recognized. The union agreed to this compromise and the referendum was scheduled for July.

But at an early stage the dice in this referendum seemed loaded. The list of voters drawn up by the company had to be corrected because it included forty people that were no longer employed. Above all, pressure was to lead to a real intimidation campaign in the factory. Workers were regularly summoned, team by team, to listen to "clarifications" by the general manager or by their direct supervisors. These supervisors also tried to make them believe that the FTZWU had caused several factories to close down. They threatened to close Jaqalanka Ltd. if the trade union won the referendum, and publicly denigrated its leaders, several of whom were summoned individually to be intimidated. Two days before the referendum a visit by Nike auditors was used to spread the rumour that the company had just lost orders because of the union.

During that period the FTZWU alerted the labour ministry several times - in vain. The day of the referendum the team leaders continued their manoeuvres. It was therefore hardly surprising that only 17 workers dared to vote for the union when in fact 205 were members. International observers present on the scene commented: "This election was totally rigged through gross intimidation by the company. The Sri Lanka government did nothing about it".

A test for trade union rights

A dual movement was set off. On the one hand, union leaders are being threatened more and more. In July the branch secretary was assaulted in the street. Later armed men threatened another union leader with death if she did not resign from the union. On the other hand, international pressure has started to mount. The government authorities could change their position, and the Jaqalanka Ltd. management has stepped down - apparently at the request of foreign customers. Recently, the company even proposed to organize a new referendum. Considering the circumstances, the workers have refused that option. It seems obvious to them that the company will again try to sabotage the process through threats and harassment. The FTZWU has therefore demanded recognition of the union on the basis of the 5 April 2003 letter signed by 166 workers and the membership forms filled in and signed by 205 workers, a total exceeding the 40% required by the law.

In Sri Lanka the case of Jaqalanka Ltd. is receiving press coverage. The company is situated in the oldest and largest free trade zone in the country, created in 1978 and home to 92 firms employing approximately 60,000 workers. Some officials are concerned about the bad publicity that the country has received due to this violation of workers’ economic and social rights, while negotiations are under way with the European Union to obtain customs advantages. The situation is thus seen as a "test" that will impact on trade union rights throughout the country.

(1) In May 2003 the president of the Board of Investment personally visited the factory and urged the unionized workers to step down.

(2) A Nike auditor visited Jaqalanka on 14 July 2003 and held discussions with the secretary of the local FTZWU branch.

For more information

Free trade zones

There are some two thousand free zones in close to seventy countries. Between 70 and 100 million people work in them, 60-70% of whom are women, mostly between 20 and 25 years old. The majority of companies in these zones are in the electronic, textile and leather industries.

Source: Codes de Conduites des multinationales, Outils de progrès social ou coup de pub ? (111p.)

Women workers in the informal sector in Sri Lanka

In what is called "cascade sub-contracting", firms often tend to exploit women working from home. This process is used extensively in Sri Lanka.

The Asian network of NGOs, TIEASIA has conducted an in-depth inquiry on women workers in this sector.

The synthesis of this report in French (22p.) is available from on us on request.

Call in liaison with:

Clean Clothes Campaign TIE ASIA (Transnationals Information Exchange-Asia) [->http://www.tieasia.org" class="spip_url">http://www.cleanclothes.org)

TIE A...

What to do ?

By letter: copy or download the standard letter below by clicking here.

Don’t forget to date and sign your letter and to add your name and address.

Reaction time: As soon as you receive this call, or until end-October 2003.

Letter to:

Mahinda Samarasinghe Esq

Honourable Minister of Employment and Labour

Ministry of Labour

Labour Secretariat

Colombo 5

SRI LANKA

Date :

Dear Sir,

I would like to draw your attention to the situation at Jaqalanka Ltd. in the Katunayake Free Trade Zone, where members of the Free Trade Zone Workers Union (FTZWU) are facing harassment and intimidation, including direct threats to their life.

The "referendum" held on the 9th July 2003 was marred by employer intimidation. Under the current critical circumstances it is impossible to hold another referendum.

I urge you to intervene immediately and bring about an amicable settlement of the dispute on the basis of the union’s demands:

  recognition of the FTZWU as the collective bargaining agent of Jaqalanka Ltd. on the basis of its signed-up membership;

  a clear statement from Jaqalanka Ltd. that they will observe the right to Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining.

I furthermore urge you to take immediate steps to ensure the safety of the union members who are under threat.

Yours faithfully,