TUs campaign for GSP+ continuance
View(s):Trade unions involved in Sri Lanka’s apparel sector have agreed to sound off their European counterparts to support Sri Lanka’s case to continue GSP+ concessions.
This came during a meeting on Friday between local trade unions, Foreign Relations Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and Labour Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva to discuss the recent resolution in the EU Parliament calling for the temporary withdrawal of GSP+ concessions.
“We promised to fight for the continuation of GSP+ with our European counterparts as it is the workers who would suffer most if this facility is withdrawn,” said veteran trade union leader Palitha Athukorala of the National Union of Migrant Workers at the FTZ, who was present at the meeting.
Several unions in Sri Lanka are affiliated to global unions who have links to European unions. The strictures against Sri Lanka in the European Parliament were based on alleged failure to adhere to human rights conventions and the use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act to jail, without bail, several people.
Minister Gunawardena thanked the unions for their support and said that the government was also taking steps to ensure the GSP+ concessions are not withdrawn.