The Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC) has asked the government to allow factories to cut down the five-and-a-half working days to five days - with one extra hour of work during the five working days. The EFC is also asking for “short-term lay-off of workers.” Both measures are to help factories cope with sudden reductions in export orders, due to the global recession.
A recent survey says that from mid-2005 to now, many large international garment buyers shifted their business out of Sri Lanka and into cheaper manufacturing destinations. Over this period, 75 factories, in seven provinces, closed down, and out of this around 24 factories closed down over the past six months.
