NEXT in Katunayake is partly operational
Amidst speculation and controversy surrounding the closure of the NEXT apparel factory in Katunayake, it has been found to become operational with workers from job agencies hired to do so while some orders have been shifted to some of its other factories.
The NEXT factory management had tried to obtain the auditorium of the Board of Investment (BOI) on Monday to call their workers and give them the required compensation. However, the BOI confirmed that this planned meeting had been called off at the last minute.
The factory had promised workers that they will be paid compensation on or before June 15, FTZ and General Services Workers Union General Secretary Anton Marcus told The Sunday Times Business.
However, the FTZ Manufacturers Association Chairman Dhammika Fernando said that workers are being paid compensation starting this week. He noted that the reason for the company to have taken an overnight decision to close the factory was in order to avoid the bureaucratic road blocks and not prolong the closure.
Sri Lankan labour regulations are skewed to the employee and there is no proper decent exit route, Mr. Dhammika said.
“This is what the private sector and the investors are complaining about,” he noted.
However, their advice is that they should have taken a different route by offering employees a proper VRS scheme, due to the trade union bickering and in order to avoid a chaotic situation, he said.
Part of the factory is learnt to be operational like the embellishment sector and some of the orders transferred to other factories, it was noted.
It is learnt that some of the workers and management have been obtaining hefty salaries over the years and this year due to trade unionism they had been compelled to pay more than what was budgeted for the salary increment.
However, the company had entered into a Collective Agreement with the trade union in January this year.
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