Sri Lanka - Rights Violated in EPZs (2013)

Workers’ rights continue to be routinely violated in EPZs. In many cases, union activists and members are suspended, demoted or terminated. In other cases, employers have promoted non-union employees councils as a way to avoid or to weaken unions. When complaints of labour violations are brought before the appropriate governmental authorities, unions allege that employers rarely attend the hearings and, when they do, they frequently violate the terms of settlements and/or arbitration awards.