Tax holiday request from Ansell Lanka rejected
Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment (BOI) has turned down a fresh application for tax concessions from Ansell Lanka Ltd to increase production through a new expansion plan, officials said.
The reason for the rejection of the tax concessions for Ansell Lanka Ltd, the local subsidiary of world renowned glove manufacturer Ansell Ltd of Australia, was its failure to settle a workers’ dispute that has dragged on for the past four months, a senior official of the BOI disclosed.
Global trade union leader Jyrki Raina shows his solidarity at a protest march at Biyagama in support of striking Ansell workers. Pic by Quintus Perera .
The move came amidst a flurry of activity in Sri Lanka this week involving Ansell Lanka with some directors of the Australian-based company meeting here for the Ansell Lanka board meeting; a top, global trade unionist taking part in a protest meeting at Biyagama, and President Mahinda Rajapaksa stepping into the Ansell Lanka crisis. The Ansell factory is located at the Biyagama free trade zone.
The visiting directors met in Colombo and focused their attention on the workers dispute and the Supreme Court order given to settle the matter by both parties, a company official who wished to be anonymous told the Business Times.
They also discussed ongoing investment to deliver new market leading innovative technologies to serve customer demand for high-quality products, he disclosed.Secretary of the Geneva-based IndustriALL Global Union Federation, took part in a protest rally and meeting on Sunday and later, during his visit, met President Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss several trade union issues.
According to Anton Marcus, convener and General Secretary of the Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees’ Union (FTZ&GSEU) (who was not present at the meeting), “Mr. Raini said he had raised three points at the meeting with the President.
They were the national workers charter; amendments to the law relating to contract workers and the Ansell Lanka issue”.
The President had responded by directing veteran trade union leader Leslie Devendra, who was present, to ask the Labour Ministry to get involved in the negotiations pertaining to the Ansell Lanka strikers. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ordered a settlement of the issues between the striking workers and the management.
On the issue on contract labour, the President said some of these matters are being taken into consideration. Trade unions have been complaining that companies are resorting to using contract labour for core jobs (work that required permanent labour).In the meantime, tax breaks for the Ansell’s expansion plans have not been approved, the BOI official said adding that Ansell started its operations in 1992, 22 years ago, and enjoyed a 15-year tax holiday with extensions which were stopped this year. Ansell, like many others companies in which tax holidays have lapsed and no further extensions are being given, have to pay taxes from now on.
On the strike, trade union leader Mr. Marcus said it is unethical for the company to lock out 294 workers and the management has refused to negotiate a settlement. “The union has taken it to court and the Supreme Court recently and it has directed the parties to find a settlement.”
He noted that the company should resort to good industrial practices and settle the workers strike to get the approval of tax concessions from the BOI.
Ansell has a long track record of manufacturing high quality industrial and medical products in Sri Lanka, and new product development will complement manufacturing and expand its presence in the region, its officials said.