Sri Lanka's JAAFSL, Union Collective sign 2 MoUs

29 Dec '21

2 min read

Pic: Silviu Matei | Dreamstime.com

The Joint Apparel Association Forum Sri Lanka (JAAFSL) and the Union Collective, a body of key industry trade unions, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to ensure that business owners and employees work together to maintain continued vigilance on pandemic prevention, discuss issues of mutual interest and jointly participate in addressing grievances.

Both organisations signed a second agreement laying out how employers and the unions will collaborate to assess and coordinate their efforts to manage the negative impact of the pandemic on all stakeholders, co-operating as partners to address identified issues and challenges the pandemic may create.

JAAF is the apex body of Sri Lanka’s apparel industry while the Union Collective comprises three of the sector’s most prominent trade unions: the General Services Employees Union, the Sri Lanka Nidahas Sewaka Sangamaya and the National Union of Seafarers.

According to the MoU, trade unions will be represented in the bipartite health committees established in each apparel factory. These committees ensure that guidelines issued by the ministry of health are strictly adhered to at each production plant.

JAAF and the unions will also set up a bipartite dispute resolution mechanism to collaboratively address worker grievances in a transparent manner. Any grievance raised by the unions will be forwarded to the executive committee of JAAF and the Trade Union Collective for review, according to Sri Lankna media reports.

JAAF and the respective union will discuss every valid complaint and resolve the issue in a period of one month, unless it is mutually agreed to extend that timeline.

The first MoU also recognises employees’ freedom of association and their rights to collective bargaining. The second partnership compliments the ‘Better Work’ programme, of which JAAFSL is a partner. The programme is a collaborative effort between the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), with support from Government partners, employers and trade unions.

The second initiative contributes to addressing issues related to the improvement of economic performance and competitiveness of enterprises, covering gender dynamics, workplace cooperation through Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) and advancing common interests, especially the emerging challenges stemming from the pandemic.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)