Year 2010 begins with a Successful Story
The board of investment of Sri LANKA (BOI) The governing body of the FTZ&Export orientated factories revised the salaries of the workers annually. The practice of the BOI is that the decision of the salary revisions are taken only consulting the manufacturing association and the Employees representations never considered as a result although employers are in a position to pay considerable higher salaries they always agree to increase the minimum.
Because of this situation the gap between the public sector employees & the private sector employees is become wider day by day. For instance at present the public sector unskilled worker is getting minimum salary of Sri Lanka Rs 11630 ( 78 Euro ) where the minimum salary of the private sector employee is Sri Lanka Rs 6700 ( 43 Euro )
Our union every year intervene the salary revision of the BOI and demanded that BOI should consult the trade unions that represent the workers of the BOI Factories. Similarly we submitted our proposals for the salary revision each year. Unfortunately the BOI did not discuss with unions
The year 2009 BOI recommended the salary increase of Rs 1000 FROM January but the employers refused to adhere this recommendation by using the Global Economic Crisis. As a result the BOI withdrew their recommendation and requested employers to pay the amount as they wish. Because of this very few employers paid the total amount not only that because of the BOI recommendation limited to the factories situated only 03 Free Trade Zones out of 13 and under these circumstances some of the workers got nothing as salary increment
With this experience our union submitted a letter to the Minister of Investment promotion under whom the BOI is functioning dated on 09th October 2009 requested to recommend the substantial salary increase to make the salary gap narrow between the public & private sector workers. In this letter we pointed out the possibilities of employers to pay such salary increase and the unjust and the difficulties face by the employees under rocketing inflation in the country. Further we requested that any salary revision should be applied to the workers who are working in the factories of all the FTZ’S as well as the outside FTZ’s who works the factories comes under the BOI Purview. In this letter we requested form BOI to grant an opportunity to our representatives to discuss this proposed salary increase before make their recommendations.
While we are pressing for a discussing the BOI issued a circular dated on 16th October 2009 recommending 500 Rs Salary increase with effect from 1st January 2010. Further this recommendation also has limited to the factories situated in 02 Free Trade Zones as Katunayake & Biyagama
When our union got to know this we immediately informed this to the workers by distributing leaflets among the Zone workers and mobilize the workers against this unjust, unfair and unilateral act of the BOI. In the same time our union wrote and another letter to the Minister dated 04th November 2009 by protesting this act and requested him to call a discussion with employers and the union to renegotiate this salary increase. Further we vehemently condemned the limit of the recommendation only for 02 FTZ’s
We initiated signature campaign for a workers memorandum address to the Minister rejecting the 500 Rs salary increase and requesting for him to renegotiate and expands the recommendation to all the workers. While we are preparing the memorandum with nearly 20000 signatures we came to know the another circular has been issued by the BOI by expanding salary revision to all the enterprises which comes under the purview of the BOI
With this success our union together with the workers is continuing the campaign demanding the renegotiation of the salary revision and making arrangements to submit this memorandum to the minister with the participation of the workers representations
We made great efforts to get a opportunity from the minister investment promotion to handover the memorandum with 20000 signatures to protest this unjust but failed. Because all the time he insisted that he is busy withy the presidential election campaign.
By the same time we have understood that we have to do something before the end of January. So we discussed ourselves and finally came to a decision that we have to gate crash to the ministry and hand over the memorandum.
On 7th January 2010 around 11.00 Pm about 30 members of our union including some of the office bearers gate crash to the ministry and search the minister to handover the memorandum. But the minister was out of that day and only his private secretary was there.
Once we explain to him the purpose of our visit he agreed to accept the memo and on behalf of the minister. So we hand over the memorandum to him. Further more our members insist that they wanted to meet the minister and discuss their grievances (Photo attached here the handing over the memo)
We didn’t stop our campaign there. We have organized another campaign by education the all zone workers about this salary issue. The Free Trade Zone & General Services Employees Union decide to mobilize all its members and members through others workers in the zones for white dress parade. On 15th December 2010 we made this action into fully operation and the Free trade Zones turned to fully white because most of the workers came to work with pure white dresses ( Photo attached herewith )
This event has been given a very big publicity even the television and all the audio visual media and we also felt that influence a lot to the authorities to come to the table for a discussion . As a result our union was called for official discussion with the minister, Chairman with other high rank BOI official to negotiate this salary issue. There by bidding and bargaining we were able to get a 15 % salary increment from the present salary of the workers
But on the following evening we came to know the minister of labor suddenly announced that the government is going to increase the private sector workers salary from 2500 Rs and this has been published in the local news papers (Paper cutting attached for your easy reference) .
So we are very happy because we have achieved our gall and we were able to bring the authorities to the place where they were compelled to declared increase the salary of the private sector workers as a result of our hard and long time struggle. We continue our campaign and believe to bring more & more successful mobilizations
Thanks
Yours In Solidarity
Anton Marcus
Joint Secretary
Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees Union
Om Anton Marcus och textilarbetarfacket på Sri Lanka kan du läsa mer här:
www.rattvishandel.net/documents/Slutrapport%20Frizonsgruppen%20Sri%20Lanka3.pdf
www.fairtradecenter.se/node/1258
www.renaklader.org/industrin/ekonomiska-frizoner
eller läs om den blinda klädimporten:
www.swedwatch.org/swedwatch/rapporter
eller lönebilden inom textilindustrin:
www.renaklader.org/material/rapport-om-levnadsl-n
Med en Morotsmobb eller Carrot Mob riktas fokus och uppmärksamhet mot butiker och företag som gör något gott. Det är ett sätt att uppmuntra dem att fortsätta och förhoppningsvis få dem att göra ännu mer. 
