More action needed on Workwear case

10 June 2004
Dear Friends,

Thanks again for your interest in justice for the workers at the Workwear Lanka factory in Sri Lanka. This letter contains information concerning the most recent developments in the case as well as a call for action. Please read the enclosed information carefully, take the actions recommended by sending letters to the authorities & companies involved in this situation, and forward this information to as many of your friends and colleagues as possible. Sample letters are included below.

Thank you.

• Summary
• Campaign background - Chronology of events

The Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees Union (formally Free Trade Zones Workers Union) requests immediate support following the dismissal of union members at the Workwear Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, in Sri Lanka.

The factory, located in the Biyagama Free Trade Zone (opened in 1995) produces various types of rubber-coated gloves. Approximately 700 workers are employed in the factory; 60% of the workers are women. Workwear Lanka (Pvt) Ltd produces gloves for a number of international glove manufacturers (contact information listed at the end of this Action Alert).

Approximately 100 workers have been dismissed, demoted, transferred, and suspended because of their union membership or sympathies. Workers have routinely been pressured to resign from the union or face dismissal. They have been told that the factory will close down if there is a union.

The company has one director from Tanzania and three from Pakistan. The managing director is Mustafa Mussa Kassam Somji, from Tanzania. He is also a major shareholder in the company.

The union is demanding that Workwear Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. management immediately:

1. Reinstate all the workers whose services have been terminated;

2. Withdraw the suspension of union branch office-bearers, committee members, and activists and call them back to work;

3. Cancel all transfers and demotion of the union members and restore them to their earlier positions; and

4. Respect workers' right to organise by preventing interference with the conduct of the trade union's activities.

Source: Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees Union

December 2003: Approximately 263 Workwear Lanka workers joined the FTZGSEU union and formed a branch at the factory. Management immediately launched an anti-union campaign.

December 28, 2003: The union is officially formed at the factory. The following day, management representatives asked about the union, and requested that workers resign from the union. On December 30 and 31, management questioned each worker about their affiliation to the union and asked that they resign. Management threatened the workers with dismissal and possible closure of the factory unless they resigned from the union.

December 31, 2003: Management sent letters to seven union workers, including the vice president, treasurer and committee member of the union, and the other activists, charging them with instigating a strike and causing losses to the company in relation to a brief December 27 work stoppage held to protest verbal abuse and failure to pay an employee.

January 1, 2004: The union officially informed the company of the formation of the branch union and the names of the office bearers and committee members. The next day management continued harassment and intimidation of the union members. When the branch union president and four committee members reported for work, they were denied entry to the factory.

January 4: The union requested a meeting with management to discuss the anti-union harassment and intimidation and also filed a complaint with the minister of employment and labour and the Commissioner General of Labour requesting intervention. The Commissioner General of Labour requested that union and management representatives meet with him on January 12 to discuss the situation.

January 8: The company issued a charge sheet to the branch union secretary stating that she had instigated the December 27 work stoppage and had caused the company to lose money. [A charge sheet is a written statement from management detailing charges against the workers; workers are supposed to provide reasons why they are not guilty of the charges. This is different from a warning letter, which is issued after workers are found guilty of those charges.] Several union members were also demoted because they refused to resign from the union. An additional 15 non-union workers were also dismissed. Management justified the layoffs by saying these were casual workers and no longer needed.

January 11: The union filed a second complaint with the Commissioner General of Labour regarding the ongoing harassment of union members and unfair labour practices, requesting that these issues be discussed at the January 12 meeting.

January 12: Management failed to attend the meeting. Management informed the union officials that those facing various charges should plead guilty, apologize in writing, and be prepared to face punishment should they commit similar offences in the future. The workers who received the letters wrote to management saying that they would not plead guilty because they had not committed any acts of misconduct.

January 14: The union filed another complaint with the Commissioner General of Labor regarding the ongoing anti-union campaign and the dismissal of another 47 non-union workers under the pretext that they were casual workers and they were no longer needed.

January 26: The Commissioner General of Labor informed the union and the management that they should participate in a meeting on February 9 to discuss the union complaints. Meanwhile, management maintained that there was no union and demanded that they be provided with a list of members with their signatures. The union contacted the Commissioner General of Labor to contest management's failure to recognize the union (cc'ing management), but offered to provide a list of members with signatures if management would reinstate the terminated workers and stop their anti-union campaign.

February 3: Management suspended the union's officer bearers, committee members and the activist who had been issued charge sheets, claiming that they were unwilling to accept the charges leveled against them.

February 9: Workwear Lanka management again failed to attend the meeting called by the commissioner general of labor. The union president was demoted to floor sweeper and eventually resigned.

February 10: By this date approximately 100 workers have been dismissed from Workwear Lanka on the grounds that they were casual workers and their services were no longer needed, a clear attempt by management to break the union. The workers, recruited as contract/casual workers, had worked from a month to a year, and were sympathetic to the union because the union position was that they should be permanent employees. Though management maintains that these workers are no longer needed, management is currently recruiting new workers through a manpower agency. Recently, management has tried to use religious difference to create anti-union sentiment among the workers.

March 11: A complaint was filed with the Commissioner General of Labour (CGL) detailing the fact that Workwear Lanka (WLanka) had not carried out the Commissioner's advice that suspended workers be given 50% of their salary.

April 6: At a CGL meeting, WLanka agrees to conclude the domestic inquiries before April 30 and to pay suspended workers 50% of their salary from the date of suspension until the finalization of the inquiry, and 50% for the months of February and March. WLanka agrees to pay these wages on April 10th and to hold new meetings with branch union officers on April 23.

April 9: Suspended workers were informed by WLanka of the domestic inquiry, with various starting dates beginning on April 18. The suspended workers wrote WLanka requesting an opportunity to retain defending officers on their behalf.

April 10: WLanka refuses to pay suspended workers as they had agreed to in the April 6 meeting. WLanka states that they will only pay the workers if the domestic inquiry was not finalized before April 30.

April 18: Workers attending the domestic inquiry learn that their demand of having defending officers retained on their behalf was refused. WLanka has retained its own attorney. The workers protested this injustice, the statements were recorded, and the inquiry was postponed until April 24.

April 19: As agreed to at the April 6 discussion, the newly elected branch officials went to hand over their list of demands to the personnel officer who had promised to discuss these matters on April 23. The Administrative officer refused to accept the demand letter.

April 25: The suspended workers went to the domestic inquiry with a jointly signed letter explaining the unfair manner in which the domestic inquiry had been conducted, including WLanka's refusal to retain defending officer and WLanka's non-payment of 50% of suspended workers' salaries as agreed upon at the April 6 CGL meeting. When the workers submitted this letter to the inquiry officer they made clear that their participation in the domestic inquiry would be done under protest due to these concerns. Per WLanka's Lawyer, the inquiry officer denied the suspended workers admittance to the domestic inquiry under protest and requested that they withdraw their letter. The workers did not agree, and the inquiry officer decided to hold the domestic inquiry without the workers present.

April 27: The suspended workers sent a joint letter to the inquiry officer protesting the decision to hold an ex parte inquiry.

April 28: The union wrote another letter to the CGL to mention the violations of the agreements reached at the April 6 meeting and requesting that the following actions be taken by the Commissioner General of Labour:

(a) To ask the employer to pay 50% of workers' salaries;

(b) Compulsory arbitration of the dispute regarding the termination of services of about 100 workers under the pretext of contract workers;

(c) Legal action and the prosecution of the company for its unfair labour practices.

May 7: The CGL held another discussion to which the Commissioner General invited the Director of Industrial Relations of the and Board of Investment of Sri Lanka. At this discussion the company representative and the company lawyer conducted the domestic inquiry. The Commissioner General put forward several proposals to settle this dispute.

(1) To allow suspended workers to retain a defending officer and restart the domestic inquiry. The domestic inquiry finding should be issued before July 30, and until such time the suspended workers should be paid 50% of their salaries from the date of suspension.

(2) Alternatively, the company should reinstate the suspended workers. As a settlement the workers would submit a letter of apology which couldn't be used against them in the future.

(3) The company should discuss with branch union officials matters related to their members.

The company representatives asked for time to get advice from their directors about these proposals. The union representatives agreed to consider the proposal after hearing the company's decision. The union also submitted a list of unfair labour practices committed by the company to the Commissioner General of the Labour and the Company and the Director Board of Investment, requesting legal actions against the company. The Commissioner General of Labour advised the company to give their explanations to each and every allegation mentioned in the letter.

13 May 2004: By letter, the union wrote to the Commissioner General of Labour requesting immediate prosecution due to the company's reluctance to settle the matter on the basis of his proposal. The union mentioned in this letter that it is prepared to retain a defending officer on behalf of the suspended workers and participate in the domestic inquiry provided that workers are paid 50% of their salaries as promised by the company and that the first payment is made before the commencement of the domestic inquiry.

TODAY: The union is currently awaiting the Commissioner General's responses.

ACTION REQUEST

1. Please send a letter of protest to Workwear Lanka management, requesting that they stop their anti-union campaign and meet the union's fair demands. CC your letters to the Commissioner General of Labour and the Board of Investment. (See sample letter #1)

2. Contact the companies producing gloves at Workwear Lanka and ask them to urge Workwear Lanka management to respect workers' rights to join a union and to negotiate in good faith with the union regarding the issues outlined below. (See sample letter #2. A list of addresses for companies to send this letter to is at the end of the letter.)

3. Please send copies of all your protest letters and any responses you receive to the Free Trade Zones & General Services Employees Union at: ftzunion@diamond.lanka.net and the Clean Clothes Campaign

Mustafa Mussa Kassam Somji, Managing Director
C/O Zakir Abdi
Workwear Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.
78. Biyagama Export Processing Zone
Walgama, Malwana
Sri Lanka

Tel: 94-1-465362,465363,465365 Fax: 94-1-465364
E-mail: zakir.ww@lankasafety.com

[Insert date]

Dear Mr. Mussa Kassam Somji,

I am writing you to express my concerns over the intensive anti-union campaign currently underway at your Workwear Lanka factory. As you know, workers at this factory are legally and morally entitled to join the union of their own choice and to exercise their legal right to bargain collectively. These rights are being trampled upon at your Workwear Lanka factory. As managing director of the factory, it is your responsibility to ensure that the workers at your factory are treated with respect and in full accord with their rights. Please see to it that the abusive anti-union activity at Workwear Lanka is immediately halted.

I understand that approximately 100 workers have been fired because of their support for the Free Trade Zone & General Services Employees Union (FTZGSEU). I have also learned that these workers were terminated under the pretext that they were casual laborers whose services were no longer needed. This situation is completely unacceptable, and the workers must be reinstated. Additionally, those union office-holders, committee members, and activists who have been placed on suspension must be called back to work. I understand that some union members have been transferred and demoted simply because they have attempted to participate in union activities. These workers must be restored to their earlier positions.

I fully support the unfairly terminated Workwear employees in demanding the following:

1. That Workwear Lanka stop all anti-union activities;
2. that Workwear Lanka take corrective action by reinstating all the workers whose services have been terminated;
3. that Workwear Lanka withdraw the suspension of branch union office bearers, committee members and activists, and call them all back to work;
4. that Workwear Lanka cancel all transfers and demotions of union members and restore them to their previous positions; and
5. that Workwear Lanka respects the workers' rights to organize by not interfering with any activities of the trade union.

I urge you to take these steps immediately. The right to freedom of association and collective bargaining are among the most fundamental of workers' rights. Therefore, the ongoing anti-union campaign at your facility must come to an immediate end. Besides being an affront to human dignity, these actions also constitute unfair labour practices under the provisions of Sri Lanka's Industrial Dispute (Amendment) Act, No. 56 of 1999. These anti-union activities are therefore not only morally offensive but illegal.

I have also been informed that Workwear Lanka has reneged on recent promises made at meetings with the Commissioner General of Labour to pay suspended workers 50% of their salaries. You should be aware that me and thousands of concerned citizens around the world are well aware of your company's refusal to bargain in good faith with your workers. Again, these unfair and immoral activities must cease immediately. You must bargain in good faith.

I am also aware that the union has presented several reasonable proposals for your review. In accord with the workers, I urge you and Workwear Lanka management to immediately approve these proposals and move towards cooperation with the union.

You should be aware that I am contacting the companies who have chosen to produce their gloves at Workwear Lanka to inform them of my concerns. This controversy will not go away until you ensure justice and fairness for all of the workers at your factory. I am also forwarding this letter to the Commissioner General of Labour and the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka to make clear to them my concerns and outrage over the continued injustices at your factory. Know that the world is watching to see how you choose to manage this situation.

Please keep me updated on any measures you take to correct the situation at Workwear Lanka.

Sincerely,

[insert name]

Cc: Mahinda Madihahewa
Commissioner General of Labour
Labour Secretariat
Colombo 5
Sri Lanka
Tel. 94-11-2581998
Fax: 94-112581145
E-mail: cgldol@sltnet.lk

Cc: Mr. Lalith De Mel
Director General/Chairman
Board of Investment of Sri Lanka
P.O. Box 1768, World Trade Center
26th Floor, West Tower
Colombo 1
Sri Lanka
Tel: 94-11-3448880
Fax: 94-11-232795
E-mail: lalithd@boi.lk

2. Contact the companies producing gloves at Workwear Lanka and ask them to urge Workwear Lanka management to respect workers' rights to join a union and to negotiate in good faith with the union regarding the issues outlined below. (See sample letter #2. A list of addresses for companies to send this letter to is at the end of the letter.)

To Whom it May Concern:

It has been brought to my attention that one of your Sri Lankan suppliers is engaged in activities that violate workers' union rights and Sri Lankan law. I encourage you to investigate this matter immediately and urge your supplier to come into compliance with the law.

According to reports from the Free Trade Zone & General Services Employees Union (FTZGSEU), a branch union was set up in December 2003 at Workwear Lanka, your supplier located in Sri Lanka's Biyagama Export Processing Zone. Since the formation of the union, workers have been subject to an intense anti-union campaign.

Specifically, approximately 100 workers have been dismissed, demoted, transferred, and suspended because of their union membership or sympathies. Workers have routinely been pressured to resign from the union or face dismissal. Apparently they have been told that the factory will close down if there is a union. All these actions are clearly unacceptable. In addition to violating International Labor Organization conventions 87 and 98, such actions on the part of Workwear Lanka management also qualify as unfair labor practices under the provisions of Sri Lanka's Industrial Dispute (Amendment) Act. No. 56 of 1999.

Since this controversy began, I understand that Workwear Lanka has engaged in these and other violations:

(a) An attempt to cause religious dissension with the aim of breaking up the union.
(b) A refusal to negotiate in good faith with the union.
(c) A consistent failure to live up to promises made to the union in negotiations.
(d) Systematic pressure placed on union members and sympathizers to disassociate from the union.
(e) Dismissals, demotions, transfers and suspensions of union members.

I urge you to contact your supplier today to convey to them the importance of respecting workers' rights to free association and collective bargaining. I am NOT asking you to cut your orders with this factory. That would only punish the workers who are trying to exercise their legal rights. Instead, I hope that you will follow up on your responsibility to support workers' rights and work with management at Workwear Lanka to see that they put a halt to any anti-union activities.

Thank you for considering these concerns. Please keep me informed of any action you take on this serious matter.

Sincerely,

[insert name]

Contact information for Workwear Lanka clients:

SHELBY GROUP INTERNATIONAL
5321 East Shelby Drive
Memphis, Tennessee 38118
United States
Phone: +1-901-360-8928
Fax: +1-901-362- 9127
E-mail: hcrews@shelbygroup.com

CUTTERS GLOVES
4515 N. 32nd Street
Phoenix, AZ 85018
United States
Tel.: 1-800-821-0231
E-mail: info@cuttersgloves.com

MAGID GLOVE & SAFETY MANUFACTURING CO.
2060 North Kolmar Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60639
Chicago,
United States
Tel.: 1-800-444-8030
mail@magidglove.com

IAB REINRAUM-PRODUKTE GmbH
Mr. Matzi, Executive Director
Friedrich-Seele-Straße 20
38122 Braunschweig
Germany
Tel: 0049 - 5312 - 848412
Fax: 0049 - 5312 - 2848440
info@iab-bs.de

FITZNER
Director Wilhelm Fitzner
Arbeitsschutz, Schillerstraße 23
32361 Preußisch-Oldendorf
Germany
Tel.: 05742 - 93 03 - 0
Fax: 05742 - 93 03 - 60
E-mail: info@fitzner.de

BM POLYCO LIMITED
Leslie Blustin, Joint Managing Director
Great Cambridge Industrial Estate
Lincoln Road
Enfield EN1 1SH, U.K.
Tel: 020 8443 9010
Fax: 020 8443 9011.
E-mail: info@polyco.co.uk

MIDAS SAFETY INC.
255 Duncan Mills Road, Suite # 904
North York, Ontario M33 3H9
Canada
Tel.: 416-447-9040
Fax: 416-447-8694
E-mail: midas@midassafety.com

INTERBAR GLOVES S.L.
AV LOGROÑO, S/N,
26250 SANTO DOMINGO DE LA CALZADA (LA RIOJA)
Spain
Tel: +34-941340885
Fax: + 34 941 340 776

MITANE TEXTILE MANUFACTURING CO.LTD
8th Fl Rinkuerga Building 2-2
Rinku Ourai- Minami
Izumisano City
Osaka, 598-007 JAPAN