Trade unions to meet EU team on GSP+
Trade unions representing workers in apparel factories in the country have prepared a road map to regain the European Union (EU) trade concession through the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) + to be submitted next week. The proposal would be forwarded to the EU delegation arriving in the country next week to discuss with the relevant authorities on how to regain the GSP plus trade concessions to the country, trade union activist Palitha Athukorala told the Business Times.
Trade unions have to be actively involved in a bid to ensure that worker rights are guaranteed towards which end the International Trade Unions Confederation (ITUC) has called for a meeting between local unions and the delegation during their visit.Unions are seeking measures permitting direct access to the courts in order to have their complaints on unfair labour practices and anti-union discrimination be examined by the judicial authorities.
In this regard, it was pointed out that the Industrial Disputes Act should be amended so as to enable workers and trade unions be given the right to file a complaint directly to the Magistrate’s Court in instances of anti-union discrimination in order to ensure they have unfettered access to legal remedy in cases of victimization. To launch a union in the FTZs requires the support of at least 40 per cent of the workers, which the trade unions believe is unfair. If that is the case, Employees’ Councils in FTZs, unions argue, should have the same rule in terms of the minimum threshold.