Dear Friends,

Please find attached an article, for your information on the living and working conditions of mostly women garment factory workers, who work for export orientated factories in the war torn eastern district of Batticaloa in Sri Lanka. The article also explains how women workers organised.

(Foto: Export Orientated Garment Factory, situated near to Batticaloa at Valaichenai)

Also available are three other versions of this article, available on request.
1. A shorter version of this article, (meant for the International arena);
2. A shorter and simpler version for translation aimed at workers/factory floor activists;
3. A Sri Lankan version (assume prior knowledge of the conflict in Sri Lanka).

It is also possible, with some notice, to write up some additional short stories from the transcript of the interview conducted with women workers.

Sri Lanka, an island of around 19 million people, located southeast of India gained independence in 1948.

Once known for its tea, Sri Lanka today relies heavily on foreign investment particularly through the garment manufacturing industry, with the government established Free Trade Zones (FTZs) used as incentive.

The country has been plagued by a violent civil war for more than 17 years, with no end in sight, despite the "peace talks" that occur at random intervals.

(foto: One of many bombed out buildings in the Batticaloa area)

The Liberation Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) who are demanding the establishment of an independent Tamil state in the north of the country have been fighting the Sri Lankan government forces since 1983.

In the last two decades the LTTE has launched many bombing attacks in main urban centres, and is often blamed for blasts or violence initiated by other groups.

Many Tamil people have been forced to flee the country due to fear of arrest by the government, while those who cannot, live in constant fear of persecution.

There are many undocumented cases of disappearances and torture in war zones, and estimates at the total number of lives lost for the duration of the conflict range dramatically from official reports of 50,000 to unofficial reports of 150,000.

Batticaloa, with a district population of 500,000 is about 400km northeast of Sri Lanka's capital Colombo.
This eastern province made up of 50% Tamils, 30% Muslims and 20% Sinhalese is predominantly Tamil speaking. Sinhala, the country's official language is seldom spoken in the north or the east.
The major religion is Hinduism, followed by Islam, and in this part of the country, the usual dominant religion of Buddhism is considered a minority.

The conflict in the east was at its peak during the 80s and early 90s, although the rate of conflict is said to be less than in the north.
While fighting is reported to be less in recent times, ambushes and landmines are still common.
An area close to Batticaloa town is considered by the LTTE to be a safe haven, an uncleared area, where government forces will not cross.

Economic conditions are poor. Families relying on farming or fishing for income have been directly affected by the conflict unable to carry out their work due to movement restrictions.
Others rely on family members working in government offices or those who are working in the Middle East.
Workers in the garment, textile and related industries throughout Asia make up one the most exploited labour forces in the world. They are forced to work long hours to meet unrealistic ally high production targets and are underpaid. They are abused by their employers and have their rights routinely violated. The right to organise and form unions does not exist in reality.
They live in inadequate accommodation and travel long distances to their place of employment. They are targets of harassment. They are viewed negatively by society.

For those working in a factory within a conflict area issues of transportation and freedom of movement to get to work are day to day realities. Employment opportunities are limited with employers taking advantage of the community's precarious situation, exploiting workers with the knowledge there are less checks in an area where authorities and the general population is afraid to venture.

These are the experiences of Transnationals International Exchange (TIE) - Asia which is part of an international labour network. Its Asia regional office based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, focuses on garment and textile workers providing leadership training, campaigning, networking and information sharing and documentation, as well as supporting broader labour issues.

TIE-Asia in conjunction with the Centre for the Welfare of Garment Workers recently conducted a training program for workers in the Batticaloa district to inform them of their rights. The Industrial, Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU), a partner organisation of TIE-Asia was also involved with advocacy and supporting workers.

The training programs aim to provide information for workers about their legal entitlements and to encourage workers to think about organising.

(foto: Training Programme - Batticaloa, Jan. 2001)

Few groups are willing to take the risk of entering a conflict area to conduct programs to benefit workers.
ITGWU Joint Secretary Anton Marcus believes the establishment of independent unions in the eastern province is a significant step towards restoring a democratic society not just for workers, but the whole community.
It is a good experience for us, a milestone for our union," he said.
Unions existed in the eastern province before the ITGWU, but these unions have not been active and are all backed by political groups with vested interests. There were no unions in the garment factories where the workforce is mostly made up of women.
"It's very important for workers to come out and raise their voices because civil process has been broken in this area. Civil action has to be motivated," Mr Marcus said.
"Even the groups who are working in this area (militant groups also) claim they are fighting for justice. This (conditions for workers) is one aspect they should consider, instead they ignore it."

It is not only a risk to encourage organising in a conflict area, it is a costly experience in monetary terms and time. Batticaloa is eight hours by private transport from Colombo, for those using public transport the journey may take up to 10 hours. Journeys can also vary depending on when roads are open, and when they close. Roads into Batticaloa open at 7am and close at 7pm.
"It is very costly," Mr Marcus said. "One visit costs the same as six months' membership fees, but we cannot evaluate on money terms."
TIE-Asia co-ordinator Kelly Dent has lived in Sri Lanka for four years and has been a trade union activist for the past 18 years.
She says the Batticaloa training program was a challenge to co-ordinate, a process that took two years to eventuate.
"It took us a long time to organise to get to Batticaloa. Every time we prepared to go, there was some escalation of conflict which made it difficult for us to go," Ms Dent said. "It wasn't 'til we had a local base with a branch union at one factory in Batticaloa that we were really able to get there and organise a training program."

Organisation was not the only concern, getting activists to travel to Batticaloa proved to be another obstacle.
"Certainly among some activists there was a reluctance to go because of what people have seen and heard about the conflict that's going on there.
"For one of the activists who was keen to come and see what is going on, it was an eye opening experience. She found it difficult being in her own country, but not being able to communicate because she couldn't speak the language."

On a personal level Ms Dent, who has travelled extensively throughout the island, said the journey was a memorable experience.
"The actual trip for me was a mixture of excitement, fear and adrenaline because it's not an ordinary trip to get there. You get to a checkpoint, called Mannampittya where the road is closed and people sleep on the road waiting for it to open. There is very much a sense that you are crossing a border where there should be no border.

"I will never forget the road from the second checkpoint to Valaichchenai, the first major village before Batticaloa. The sun was rising and the scenery was beautiful - flat open fields surrounded by mountains. Army camps are set up in the middle of the road, so they can see who is coming. There were thousands of Sri Lankan armed forces personnel checking the sides of the road for mines, against a backdrop of bombed out buildings and early morning light."

During the training program Ms Dent interviewed women workers to find out about their living and working conditions.
Examples such as Shanti's are common, yet her situation is not one readily understood by Sri Lankans living outside of the conflict zones.

"I think for Sri Lankans living outside of the conflict zones there is a lack of awareness and understanding of how the conflict affects every aspect of a person's life in the north and the east. This is based on misinformation which is fed by rumour and strong censorship of the press which makes it difficult for people to really know what is going on," Ms Dent said. "This has been confirmed when we have had activists from Batticoloa come to Colombo for training programs. Both Sinhalese and Tamil activists have been quite amazed at each other's stories.
"One's impressions of war are also shaped by where you fit in society and where you live."

Roads closures determine when and where people can travel. New battles between government forces and the LTTE or other militant groups scare employers into closing factories. Gunfire is not only a threat to business, but to the daily existence of workers - civilians trying to earn a living.
Ms Dent said during the Batticaloa training workers recalled how their colleagues had been killed, caught in the crossfire because an army camp had been established within their factory compound.

"The government needed an area to put an army camp in Valaichenai and because it owns the Valaichenai Paper Mill they put the army camp where the staff quarters used to be within the factory compound, and the staff quarters were shifted without consultation," she said.
"At a time when tensions were high between the LTTE and government forces, a lot of exchanges of fire and mortar shells occurred. One shell just missed the army camp and exploded in the new staff quarters, killing two workers."

In the Batticaloa district there are three export-orientated garment factories employing about 1000 workers, 80% of them are women.

Factories, often established with foreign investment are sub-contractors for transnational corporations (TNCs). They moved into the conflict zones in Sri Lanka long after the war began.

In an area ravaged by war there are less checks by authorities and monitors, with substantial concessions offered by government for companies operating in rural areas.
"I think we are seeing an increased movement of factories to areas that are rural, poor, isolated or affected by war," Ms Dent said.
"I think this is a deliberate strategy because workers from a war area for example are even less likely than workers in urban conditions, to be organised and to demand their proper wages and conditions. What is the alternative?"

Mr Marcus agrees the factories are not only exploiting workers, but also the circumstances they live in.
"Investors and employers make use of the situation. There are more concessions and less production costs," he said.
"Internationally they will get more sympathy supporting people who are living under war conditions."

"Employers take maximum advantage of their perceived status of doing the community a favour by just being there, according to organiser Joseph Arulvasagam.
"The management feel they are doing a favour by running a factory in a war torn area. They want them (workers) to feel they are doing a service under war conditions," he said
"They don't expect them to question. They should be thankful to have a job."

Mr Arulvasagam, who has met with workers from the eastern province on several occasions says there was little awareness among workers about what their rights are.
"They had a feeling they were being exploited, but they had no understanding of which Act or which law. A lack of knowledge has kept them from organising themselves."
When TIE-Asia went to conduct the awareness raising programs, they found workers were indeed being exploited with low salaries, leave not allowed, and forced overtime all commonplace.
"There is no implementation of minimum terms and conditions," Mr Marcus said.
The minimum training wage for a garment factory worker in Sri Lanka is Rs2500/- (US$29) per month. TIE-Asia learnt some workers were being paid just Rs485/- (US$5.70) per month.

Mr Arulvasagam said salaries are not paid on time and workers are not paid for night work or all the hours they have been forced to do as compulsory overtime.
Salaries are so low some workers are in fact not even earning an income and are going to the factory merely to fill in time.
"(The salary) is not enough to travel from home to work. They spend out of their own pocket to meet the travel expenses.
"They keep the job because it is something to keep themselves occupied. It is like going to school."

Mr Arulvasagam said workers have no chance for promotion with management dictating terms of employment without room for negotiation.
"They (management) keep the beginners as trainees for one and a half years, the term is not fixed. Once they have completed that period, the salary slowly increases by Rs200/- or Rs300/- at random intervals.
"Management are keeping some of the workers on as trainees who are very well experienced. There is no evaluation of performance. It is only a matter of how they can exploit (workers) and how long they can go on."

It could be argued it takes great strength from these workers to form or join a union.
While intimidation tactics are common by management in factories in the Free Trade Zones (FTZs) and districts, and workers may be dismissed or factories closed with the difficult task of finding re-employment, for those working in the eastern province the risk is greater.
If they lose their job or the TNC withdraws its contract to the factory or the factory packs up and moves elsewhere, where will these workers find employment?
"These are all tragic outcomes for workers," Ms Dent said.

When workers in Batticaloa organised themselves to form a branch union of the IGTWU, shortly after the training programs were conducted, they found themselves victimised by factory management.
Some workers were dismissed after applying for leave on a public holiday to attend a union meeting. Union encouragement and intervention from the Department of Labour forced management to reinstate the workers, but their salary owed for the duration of dismissal remains unpaid.
Mr Arulvasagam said some factory bosses intimidate workers telling them joining a union is illegal and liken it to joining a terrorist movement.
"They say if you join the union we will close down the factory," he said.
Mr Arulvasagam said there was little movement of people out of the war zone, despite the conditions they must live under.
"The trend of migration is very limited. Traditionally people from the east don't venture to the western province (ie: Colombo and surrounds). They don't try it, it is another very difficult experience for them, they have a fear of it. They are also from the traditional family class and stay with their families."
The fear Mr Arulvasagam refers to is the fear of persecution and continual suspicion they are placed under by being Tamil.
In Colombo in particular, Tamil people especially those from outstation are under intense scrutiny.
They are thought to be "tiger" sympathisers or terrorists. Their every movement must be registered with the police station of the town they are visiting.
Sri Lanka's Prevention of Terrorism Act, introduced in the 1980s, is still enforced which allows the police and/or military to arrest whoever they believe to be suspected terrorists.

TIE-Asia activists are strong believers in an organised workforce, but they also have a belief that solidarity among workers might be able to cross the ethnic divide which is often blamed for the conflict which cripples the country.
Mr Arulvasagam has seen the reaction of the public in the eastern province to their work and he thinks it will slowly have a positive impact on the lives of workers like

Shanti, and for the wider community.
"For the public this is something new, an independent group trying to help the workers. The 'for peace' slogans we had on May Day (at a rally in Batticaloa) were well received. While the public did not march with us, they stood along the roadside and silently endorsed the messages we had."

(Foto: May Day 2001: Batticaloa - Women Workers Marching for Peace and their Rights at Work)

Written by Melanie Brehaut, for TIE-Asia, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
May 22, 2001
tieasia@sri.lanka.net