Trade unions rights established at two FTZ factories
View(s):Trade unions, helped by international unions and pressure from European ambassadors, won a major battle in a Katunayake Free Trade Zone company that was opposing attempts to set up a trade union.
On Tuesday February 7, referendums were held at the factories of ATG Occupational and ATG Ceylon under Labour Department supervision with over 40 per cent of workers, the minimum requirement to set up a union, in both factories voting to have the union as its lawful bargaining agent, according to the Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees Union (FTZGSEU).
FTZGSEU Joint Secretary Anton Marcus said that there have been bitter disputes between his union and the company management whom the union accused of heavy coercion and pressure to bar workers from organising themselves.
According to an exclusive Business Times January 29 story, the European Union and the German embassy in Sri Lanka last month, acting on complaints by an IndustriALL Global Union, a worldwide union grouping, raised strong objections over what they called allegedly unfair labour practices at the two factories also suggesting that the problem – if not resolved – could derail the country’s bid for GSP+.
While the German Ambassador Jorn Rohde expressed his concerns to Labour Minister W.D.J. Seneviratne in a January 24 letter where he also drew attention to the ‘alleged failure of Sri Lankan authorities to enforce compliance with the respective legal provisions”, EU Sri Lanka Ambassador Tung-Lai Margue urged the same minister to ensure that “the upcoming (union) vote at both the concerned factories on Friday (January 27) follows acceptable standards and procedures that are required”.
He also pointed out that compliance with the core ILO labour conventions is a key requirement to qualify for GSP+. The vote was subsequently postponed and held on February 7.
“Workers were intimidated, suspended, forced to resign from union membership against which majority of the workers fought for their fundamental right to be organised in a union of their choice and be represented by the union as their collective bargaining agent,” Mr Marcus said.
“We believe this long battle for worker rights provides many lessons for both the workers and their unions and also for the investor employers. For the workers and unions, this proves in the present Sri Lankan context where political power plays a crucial role in promoting investment and promising lenient and relaxed application of guide lines, regulations and laws for the benefit of investors, unions will have to seek redress through international complaint mechanisms and international worker solidarity in safeguarding worker rights. It was such international lobbying and perhaps international pressure brought on both the government and the British investor that eventually led the ATG management to ensure to conduct a pieceful referendum and back down to allow adequate space for the workers use their vote, resulting in a poll of over 95 per cent in both factories,” he added.