Financial Times

Local factory figures at Cancun meeting
A Sri Lankan garment factory was thrust into the limelight of the WTO Ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico, where developing countries urged wealthy nations to end subsidies.

The International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation, the global textiles union, in a note to all trade ministers attending the summit said companies like Jaqalanka in Sri Lanka were abusing worker rights, undermining development and putting in jeopardy the whole future of the textile and clothing industries in their country of operation.

It said Jaqalanka, a major supplier to leading brand names in the garment industry, had embarked on a campaign of harassment and intimidation against its workforce when management discovered the majority had joined the Free Trade Zone Workers' Union.

"Union leaders were singled out for special attack and only 17 of the factory's workforce of 400 dared vote in a (July) referendum on union recognition," the federation said in a statement. Jaqalanka officials were not immediately available for comment.

Although Labour Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe has now agreed to hold a fresh referendum, which the company is also prepared to do, Sri Lanka's Free Trade Zones Workers' Union is opposed to the idea. It fears another referendum, given the ongoing harassment, would end up with the same result, and wants the factory to recognise the union without a poll.

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