Sri Lanka - EPZs – a history of anti-unionism (2010)

Sri Lanka’s export processing zones (EPZs) are managed by the Board of Investment (BOI), which sets wages and working conditions. In many cases, union members or officials are suspended, demoted or dismissed, and many have been assaulted. New workers, often women, are warned not to join unions. Union activists not employed by an enterprise in the zones are not allowed inside an EPZ unless their entry is approved by the employer. This ban is one of the main barriers to organising in the EPZs.