| Workshop Background Paper | ||
LABOUR ISSUES IN THE TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY:
A SRI LANKAN PERSPECTIVEBy Ranjith Tennekoon
Seminar or Workshop background papers express the views of their authors only
and are provided for information and to stimulate discussionInternational Labour Office Geneva
Contents:
1. The Textile Industry in Sri Lanka is as old as the history of this Island nation. It is recorded in the great chronicle 'Mahaansa', that when King Vijaya and his men landed in 'Tammannapura' 257 years BC, "Kuveni", a local princess was spinning cotton yarn. It shows that, Sri Lanka had a textile Industry and that even in those days women were involved in the industry. History does not record any significant economic activity connected with textiles since then, until the recent past when the "Wellawatta Spinning and Weaving Mill" was established in the late 19th Century.
2. In the 60s and 70s of the 20th century the existence of a vibrant textile industry was evident, mainly, due to the establishment of textile manufacturing facilities by the state in a bid to be self sufficient in textiles. Yet, the clothing industry was limited to a few shirt manufacturers and ladies' ready made dresses were not very popular. The 60s and 70s period also recorded an upsurge in the hand-loom industry and this sector was dominated by women, whereas the organized State sector mills were dominated by male employees and the private sector had a considerable number of female employees amongst their work force.
3. The Textile Industry broadly consisted of the organized large scale mill division, of which, the cotton sector was with the state, and the synthetic sector was in the hands of the private sector. Medium and small scale industry had an equal share between state and private ownership and the Handlooms were mainly with the co-operative and private sector. The working conditions, rules and regulations and emoluments varied widely within the State, Private & Co-operative sectors. This was an era of protectionism and state control.
4. Success breeds success but it also breeds pressures. The TC sector is a classic example of this phenomenon. The very success of the industry has transformed it into a high pressure industry. In turn, all the employees are also subject to the success pressures. While reaping the benefits of the success, the entrepreneurs have the obligation to lessen the burden of pressure from their employees. From the employees point of view they have to some extent legal protection and remedies but there is also a moral dimension for such problems and solutions can be found within the industry and the structure of the industry plays an important role.
6. The Clothing Industry is mainly export oriented and can be broadly classified either by institutional type or economic activity. By institutional type: EPZ enterprises. BOI enterprises outside zones. Non BOI enterprises By economic activity: Direct Exporters Sub-contractors for exports Large/medium scale producers for local market. Small Scale producers (Pamunuwa Syndrome).*
7. The reason for looking at the structure is because the law and practice vary widely according the nature of the industry. The law as such is equally applicable irrespective of the structure, but in reality the direct exporters and large/medium scale manufacturers are subject to various regulatory measures whereas sub-contractors are not subjected to the same extent; producers for local market are rigorously subjected to existing laws and finally the Pamunuwa Syndrome Enterprises are not regulated at all. ~Pamunuwa is a village neighbouring Maharagama 11 miles from Colombo the Capital city. This area has a large number of very small scale garment producers who manufacture goods for the lower end of the local market and the goods are sold in hundreds of permanent and semi permanent structures along a stretch of about 2 km. They are very cheap and of very low quality but some items carry designer labels.
