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Industrial Relations Pressures/Issues Evident for ‘Women Workers in the Garment Industry in Sri Lanka’

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Industrial Relations Pressures/Issues Evident for ‘Women Workers in the Garment Industry in Sri Lanka’
1. INTRODUCTION This report will focus on industrial relations pressures/issues evident for „Women workers in the Garment Industry in Sri Lanka’, a strategic plan for addressing these issues utilizing relevant theory. The industrial relations issues faced by women are very much similar to all workers in the industry irrespective of gender. However, there are some issues that are unique to women which will also be highlighted in this report.

The Harvard Map of HRM will be used as a base to analyse these issues and form a strategic plan. This conceptual map was developed by Beer et al. (1985) at Harvard which the authors describe as a broad causal mapping of the determinants and consequences of HRM policies (Guest 1987) as shown in the illustration below:

The major stake holders in this instance would be the Management, Garment Industry, Employees, Unions, Government and the Community. Situational factors inside and outside the organization would affect the stakeholders. Therefore, unless the strategic plans/policies drawn up would need to be influenced by all stakeholders it will not be successful in meeting the needs of these stakeholders in the long-term. Through these policies the 4 C‟s of commitment,

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competence, congruence and cost-effectiveness can be achieved which in turn lead to longterm consequences of individual well-being, organizational effectiveness and societal wellbeing.

2. GARMENT INDUSTRY IN SRI LANKA The garment industry plays a important role in Sri Lanka‟s economy and contributes substantially in terms of foreign exchange earnings, production and the generation of employment. With the liberalization of the Sri Lankan economy in the 1970‟s the garment industry has replaced more traditional export industries like tea and rubber as the highest foreign exchange earner. The industry accounts for about 40% of the industrial production and is the largest contributor to the economy, accounting for 8% of the GDP (Wijayasiri &


References: Adhikari, R. & Weeratunge, C. 2007, "Textiles and Clothing in South Asia", South Asia Economic Journal, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 171-203. Amerasinghe, F. 2009, The Current Status and Evolution of Industrial Relations in Sri Lanka, International Labour Office, Geneva, Switzerland Dasanayaka, G. 2006, ILO Factory Improvement Programme – The EFC Experience, International Labour Organization, viewed 17 September 2011, . Dheerasinghe, R. 2003, “Garment Industry in Sri Lanka Challenges, Prospects and Strategies”, Staff Studies, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 33-72. Employees‟ Trust Fund Board 2009, Employer Details, Colombo, viewed 16 September 2011, . Engman, M., Onodera, O. & Pinali, E. 2007, Export processing Zones: Past and Future Role in Trade and Development, Paris, France EPF Department 2009, Contibuting to EPF, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Colombo, viewed 16 September 2011, . Fibre2fashion 2010, USAID 's PPA Program to create jobs in textile/apparel sector, viewed 17th September 2011, Guest, D.E. 1987, Journal of Management Studies, vol. 24, no. 5, pp. 503-521. Hancock, P., Middleton, S. & Moore, J. 2009, “Export Processing Zones (EPZs), Globalisation, Feminised Labour Markets and Working Conditions: A study of Sri Lankan EPZ workers”, Labour and Management in Development, vol. 10 Joshi, G. (ed) 2002, Garment industry in South Asia Rags or riches?, International Labour Office, Geneva, Switzerland Page 11 of 12 Kelegama, S. 2005, “Ready-Made Garment Industry in Sri Lanka: Preparing to Face the Global Challenges”, Asia-pacific Trade and Investment Review, vol. 1, no. 1 Klemp, L. & Reddies, B. (eds) 1992, Women Textile Workers Demand Justice: On the Situation of the Textile and Garment Industry in the Countries of the South, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Bonn, Germany Mukhopadhyay, S. 2003, Tracking Gender Equity under Economic Reforms: Continuity and Change in South Asia, International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada Onodera, O. 2008, Trade and Innovation Project: a Synthesis Paper, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, France, Paris. Politzer, M. 2007, "Juki Girls, Good Girls: Gender and Cultural Politics in Sri Lanka 's Global Garment Industry", Far Eastern Economic Review, vol. 170, no. 8, pp. 72-74. Sivananthiran, A. n.d., “Promoting decent work in export processing zones (EPZs) in Sri Lanka”, paper prepared for the ILO IFI on EPZs, forthcoming Tennekoon, R. 2000, Labour Issues in the Textile and Clothing Industry: A Sri Lankan Perspective, International Labour Office, Geneva, Switzerland Wijayasiri, J. & Dissanayake, J. 2008, Case Study 3: the Ending of the Multi-Fibre Agreement and Innovation in Sri Lankan Textile and Clothing Industry, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris, France Page 12 of 12
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