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By Channa Kasturisinghe

One of the leading and oldest garment manufacturers in Sri Lanka said yesterday that there is an international campaign to tarnish its image accusing it of ill-treating its workers.

JaqaLanka Ltd, operating at the Katunayake Free Trade Zone (FTZ) for 24 years catering to a wide customer base in Europe and USA had been spotlighted at the recent WTO Ministerial meeting at Cancun, Mexico.

The Company's Managing Director Harin Fernando said that the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) had made that accusation causing a great threat to its image internationally.

He said the global textiles union had been instigated by the Free Trade Zone Workers Union giving misleading information that the Company is abusing worker rights and ignoring labour laws.

ITGLWF has also told the Cancun Conference that Jaqalanka had embarked on a campaign of harassment and intimidation against its workforce when the management discovered the majority had joined the Free Trade Zone Workers Union (FTZWU) singling out union leaders for special attack.

However, Fernando said that the true story was that when the matter was put to a vote only 17 out of a workforce of 400 had cast their votes in favour of the union. "The ITGWF also implied that there are dismissed and displaced workers and appealed to the Government seeking reinstatement. There is absolutely no truth to the statements of intimidation, harassment or dismissals. Sixteen of seventeen workers who voted at the referendum continue to work for Jaqalanka," Fernando said.

An employee of the company told the Daily News that there was a `strike' at the factory last April as the management refused to pay bonus stating that the Company was not making profits.

However, M.P Dayanada, another employee who claimed to be former president of the Workers Union said that the FTZWU is pressuring the workers not to have any negotiations with the management on the bonus issue and to resort to trade union action.

Harin Fernando said that the FTZWU has continued to press for recognition ignoring the Company's suggestion to have a second referendum and continued to make demands aggressively.

"Interestingly, international supporters of the FTZWU initially endorsed the offer for a second referendum. Yet the FTZWU continued to reject this option and sought to draw attention to itself by unethical means," Fernando said.

He said that to bolster its claims, the FTZWU has made several complaints to the police that their members have received death threats.

"The police who investigated found no truth in these allegations.

However, regardless of the outcome of these investigations, much damage has been done to Jaqalanka in the international arena," Fernando said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Labour has appointed a three-member committee to investigate the accusations made against Jaqalanka and no evidence of misconduct on the part of Jaqalanka has been reported.

Fernando said that an additional option is under consideration to allow Auret Van Heerden of the FLA (Fair Labour Association) to investigate. He has requested a well-recognised local NGO, Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) to facilitate the process. Jaqalanka has agreed to cooperate with the CPA.

"As an employer, Jaqalanka, has stood by its workforce from the outset and the management-worker relationships have always been cordial.

We have provided workers with facilities, which are considered exceptional, even by FTZ standards. We are looking forward to cultivate an even stronger relationship with our workforce," Fernando said.

He said that the Company is committed to produce quality apparel and provide related services with timely delivery and to improve in every sphere to meet customer expectations through a dedicated team effort despite the efforts of vested interests.

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