Apparel makers seek concessions to import labour from regional countries
Sri Lanka’s apparel industry is now seeking concessions from the government to import labour from regional economies to address the local labour shortage, National Policies and Economic Affairs Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva said yesterday.
“We have tens of thousands of jobs that cannot be filled in the apparel sector, in the (industrial) zones, because no one wants to take those jobs. So people are coming to us and telling us ‘Harsha, could you give us some concessions so we can get some people from Nepal or Bangladesh or Myanmmar’ or various other places,” he said. He was speaking at a seminar on US Generalized System of Preferences programme by the Sri Lanka- USA Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
Many other industries, such as shipbuilding, construction and plantations have also shown interest in importing labour due to manpower shortages.
However, protectionist elements in the social and political spheres are resisting attempts to import labour to Sri Lanka. The construction industry seems to have already succeeded in its efforts, since thousands of Chinese Indian and Bangladesh labourers work at construction sites in Colombo, both legally with proper visa and illegally with tourist visas.
Meanwhile, Dr. de Silva also expressed doubts about the sustainability of the apparel industry, even if it is allowed to import labour.
“But, then, how sustainable is that? Is that what we really want? All what we want is to create jobs that pay good salaries and get people employed with higher paid salaries.