No money for workers of abandoned BOI factories
View(s):The government is faced with a dilemma – finding money to pay compensation – Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees Trust Fund (ETF) and gratuity – for hundreds of workers at Katunayake and Biyagama free trade zone factories abandoned by foreign investors and management, a senior cabinet minister said. At least 20 factories have closed down in the past two to three months throwing at least 1000 workers on the streets, trade union leaders revealed and this was confirmed by Labour Minister Gamini Lokuge.
He said that the foreign owners of these factories and the management have left the country and dumped the factories without paying compensation to workers and even defaulting EPF and EPF payments.
Their whereabouts cannot be traced and the government is in a difficulty to recover monies from them, he said adding that the Labour Ministry cannot take any action without finding them although it has provisions to take legal action against such persons.
One of the reasons for these closures was losing orders due to the international human rights violation propaganda campaign being carried out overseas by local NGOs and some trade unionists, he said.
The other reason was the abandoning of factories by investors after mortgaging assets to banks.
The Ministry is holding discussions with the Board of Investment (BOI) find redress for workers who lost their jobs. He suggested the BOI should give a guarantee ensuring the job security of workers when they enter into agreements with foreign investors.
Anton Marcus, convener and General Secretary of the Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees’ Union (FTZ&GSEU) said the union has sent a strong letter to the Labour Minister, emphasising the need to take prompt action for the benefit of workers.
He said that most of the factory owners had given bogus addresses to the BOI and no one can find them after they left the island.
He cites one example where the Korean investor of the failed Ace Bridge factory at Katunayake had given an address of barber salon in Korea.
He disclosed that he came to know about it when he visited Korea recently.
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