Accidents are not always tragic, or even bad, as my accidental visit to Polytex Garments Ltd. factory in Yakkala proved to be on Tuesday, August 27. It was workers in this factory, over 1,100 in all, who struck work on the trade union call for a token strike against the increased electricity bill on May [...]

The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka

Untold success story in apparel business

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Accidents are not always tragic, or even bad, as my accidental visit to Polytex Garments Ltd. factory in Yakkala proved to be on Tuesday, August 27. It was workers in this factory, over 1,100 in all, who struck work on the trade union call for a token strike against the increased electricity bill on May 17 and marched in procession to the Yakkala town.

I sat in the large company board room with militant trade union branch leaders of the Free Trade Zones (FTZ) and General Services and Employees’ Union (GSEU) , presided over by Indika Gamage, the Executive Director, Human Resources, flanked by his HR Manager and a few senior managers. No. It was no negotiating table. It was a totally different occasion when the company heads welcomed a group of Indian and Bangladesh apparel workers and trade union leaders, on the request made by Anton Marcus, the joint secretary of FTZ and GSEU. The whole group was given a very warm welcome and a tour within the factory, accompanied by the leading branch union members. Thereafter, Mr. Gamage and his team invited all of us to a discussion about their company over tea, coffee and snacks.

All the while, I was nonplussed wondering what this co-existence is, between the trade union and the company management. I knew, when Polytex first started its operations in 1982 in Ja-ela, Ekala, the fledgling union led by Anton Marcus launched a strike in 1984 demanding recognition that went on for four months and the company management backed by the then minister of labour went all out to crush and defeat the union. The company was in no mood to accept and work with trade unions. What then is this change and how does it work, I wondered.

Polytex, a subsidiary of Hong Kong based global giant “Esquel” that has production facilities in China, Malaysia, Mauritius, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, is the only company in the Sri Lankan apparel industry that has signed a collective agreement with workers, accepting their trade union as a legitimate bargaining agent. “We have agreed with Anton Marcus to disagree on what we are not convinced on, but to continue working together.” said Mr. Gamage at the discussion. “For instance, we don’t yet agree with the union’s position on Living Wage. But, well, we have a win-win situation.” he added. Explaining himself, he said, they have with consent introduced many innovative production methods to improve efficiency. “We have now lifted efficiency from 40 per cent to 60 per cent and hopefully, after the next round of negotiations, we could introduce other methods that would give 80 per cent efficiency.”

Absenteeism has also greatly reduced. For the company, that’s access to profits. For the workers, de-skilling and new methods introduced, he said, have given an increase of about Rs. 2,400 a month and may be, if other schemes follow, the increase could go up to about Rs. 4,000. Mr. Gamage said there are workers who earn over Rs. 40,000 per month in their company but on an average the minimum, he said, was over Rs. 24,000. But how much do they slog through the month to take that money home? That was all negotiated with the trade union and may be the trade union does not agree on everything, but, this is a compromise of advantage to both sides, was his remark, adding hastily that they treat workers well and the workers are satisfied. My only question to Mr. Gamage was, if this stability was assured for two years, if this increased efficiency in production which also means profits, can be achieved through accepting trade unions as bargaining agents for workers in concluding collective agreements, why don’t other company owners in 350 other apparel factories copy Polytex ? The answer was very plain. One has to have a long term perspective for the industry and different company regimes have different perspectives and approaches. Polytex under “Esquel” is also different. And Mr. Gamage added, “Anton knows, when I was HR Director in a different company, this was not how I played my role. I was also different. Because then, I represented that management.”

The next question from me is definitely not for Polytex garments or Mr. Gamage. It is to the Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association and the Employers’ Federation; “Why don’t you try this tested and proved success story, that would give access to global “clean cloth” markets and to better profits?”

(The writer is an activist on social and trade union issues)

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