Study on tourism, garment and migrant sector employees

Ramani KANGARAARACHCHI

Migrant sector employees have resigned when they started experiencing the effects of the economic crisis, a study reveals. Most of those who have lost their employment in the garment and tourism sectors and migrant workers during 2009 believe that they lost their jobs as a result of reduction in orders and lack of tourist arrivals in the respective sectors.

A study on garment and tourism sectors and migrant workers in understanding the plight of the workers in the context of the global economic crisis 2009 has shown the above.

Solidarity Centre Program Officer Manori Witharana said the American Centre for International Labour Solidarity in Sri Lanka (ASCILS) commissioned Social Indicators conducted a rapid assessment survey to determine the impact of the economic crisis on the workers of those three selected sectors.

A significant proportion of the employees who retained their jobs in the three sectors claimed that they have not been able to make any savings as it is not only the employees who are reliant on the income they generate by being employed in these three sectors. However,a majority of the garment workers and a considerable proportion of tourism and migrant sector workers who have not lost their jobs during the crisis period expressed confidence that they will not lose their jobs in the near future.

The experiences of those who have lost their employment ,either terminated by the employer or the employee has resigned are clearly different from those who retained their employment during the period in which the industries have gone through difficult times.

The survey has found irrespective of the sector of employment workers knowledge about their legal rights to be minimal. Also these workers represent the lowest economic class in society and priority is always to find their livelihood.