Trade unions urge Rs. 2000 wage increase for FTZ workers

Trade unions in Sri Lanka’s free trade zones are urging the Board of Investment (BOI) to direct all BOI companies to provide a wage increase of Rs.2,000 per worker instead of Rs. 1,200 from January 2018.

Anton Marcus, Joint Secretary, Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees Union, said in a letter to BOI Chairman Dumindra Ratnayake that they wished to stress on the fact that the Rs.1,200 wage increase is wholly inadequate and that was anyway endorsed even when Sri Lanka was without EU GSP + benefit in previous years.

“We wish to remind you, that Sri Lanka made a commitment of sharing net gains equally from EU GSP + tariff regime, to the visiting EU delegation (some months back) that included parliamentarians Ms. Anne Marie Mineur and Lola Sanchez Cladentey, who in writing to Ministers Kabir Hasheem and John Seneviratne as well as to Chairman BOI- SL (then Upul Jayasuriya) stressed on the promise made, to channel 50 per cent of the gains to workers,” the December 18 letter said.

Headlined “Violation of fundamental rights by discriminating between employees under BOI – SL approved industries in revising salaries for year 2018,” the letter refers to a letter dated October 9, 2017 to the Chairman Katunayake EPZ Manufacturing Association as regards a wage increase for year 2018.

“Let us first note here that your (BOI Chairman) endorsement of Rs.1,200 annual wage increase to employees working in factories owned by member companies of KEPZ Manufacturing Association only, is a clear violation of fundamental rights of all other employees who are also covered by the same BOI- SL Act.

Your written endorsement for an annual wage increase for employees in KEPZ Manufacturing Association member factories only, discriminates all other employees in factories within the KEPZ that are not members of the KEPZ Manufacturing Association. Your above endorsement also discriminates employees in 13 other EPZs and Industrial Parks (IP) and those other employees in BOI- SL approved projects outside these EPZs and IPs as well,” the letter noted.

Mr. Marcus added that it was “in this outgoing year 2017” that Sri Lanka regained EU approval to be under the EU GSP + regime and all export manufacturers who qualify for exports to the EU market would enjoy preferential tariffs. “While the Central Bank Governor says by July 2017 Sri Lanka had seen a 4.7 per cent increase in exports to the EU, the Industries and Commerce Minister is on record saying apparel exports gained 1.67 billion dollar boost, from EU GSP + preferential tariff.