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EU review team to see what garment industry has up its sleeve
A team from Brussels is due in the country early next month to assess the progress made by the government in implementing the 15 demands set out by the European Union (EU) before it decides to withdraw the ban on the GSP+ tax concessions.
The planned visit comes after a three member team from the Foreign Ministry visited Brussels last week where they held a day long talks with EU officials on the GSP+ facility, Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva told the Sunday Times.
He added that the discussions ended in a positive manner and it prompted Brussels to decide on sending a team sometime in January next year on a fact finding mission.
“There are some other issues that have to be dealt with and the government is working towards them in good faith in a bid to regain the facility at the very earliest,’ Dr. De Silva added.
He said that after the visit by the team from Brussels, Colombo would submit a fresh application to the EU that will seek to withdraw the ban on this facility.
The EU withdrew the GSP+ facility three years ago citing labour, human rights and several other issues and called on the then government to rectify the shortcomings at the very earliest if the ban was to be lifted.
Meanwhile the International Labour Organisation (ILO) yesterday called on the government to implement, at the very earliest, the eight Core-Conventions if it is to regain the GSP+ trading facility with the European Union (EU), a top official said.
“Sri Lanka has already ratified the ILO Conventions, but the Government must take urgent steps to implement them to the fullest in good faith and with transparency,” ILO Country Director for Sri Lanka and The Maldives Mr. Donglin Li said.
He spoke to the Sunday Times on the sidelines of the Asian Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) – an international conference comprising local and foreign trade union representatives, business persons, workers’ rights lobbyists, employees and others attached to the apparel sector – that is currently underway at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI).
The Conventions are the elimination of forced, slave and child labour, the elimination of on grounds of gender, ethnicity, religion and disability, and the enforcement of labour rights – meaning the freedom of association and collective bargaining, the minimum age of a worker and equal remuneration.
“The ILO is always keen to work with the state agencies and other stake-holders, including trade unions, towards this programme but at the same time it is the government that will have to take the lead and convince the EU that it is putting its rights record back on track along with the welfare of the workers,” he said.
The ILO also supports a constant social dialogue between the government and other stake-holders, including the local trade unions and workers, where labour and other related issues could be settled in a fair and just manner, Mr. Li added.
“It has been noted that the present administration has made some sincere efforts to address these issues but much more has to be done,” he warned.
In 2007 the ILO at the request of the Ministry of Labour carried out a fact finding mission on wage reforms in the country and made five recommendations to the relevant authorities, he said.
“Among the recommendations was the need to improve the efficiency of the wage boards and to slightly reduce their role in overall wage fixing and to introduce a national minimum wage to address the many thousands of uncovered workers.
It was also recommended that collective bargaining be developed to ensure actual increasing of wages that could be determined in a bilateral way between employers and trade unions, and not in a centralised manner,” Mr. Li said.
It was also suggested that wage fixing be reformed in the public sector, since it obviously influenced wage trends in the whole economy including the private sector.