ILO, IFC partner with Sri Lankan industry stakeholders

The ILO and IFC’s Better Work program is launching an ambitious intervention  in Sri Lanka, with the support of the European Union. 

The shared goal is to strengthen the apparel industry recovering from the pandemic and work toward a future of increased resilience, efficiency, and sustainability. The Better Work team will closely collaborate on the initiative with national partners – Government, employers, workers, and their organisations. 

The garment industry is the largest exporter in Sri Lanka’s economy and employs a majority of women workers. COVID-19 slowed the growth, but the industry started to recover in 2021 to $ 5.1 billion and aims to expand to $ 8 billion by 2025. 

“This flagship program could not have arrived at a more appropriate time as the country and the industry start to recover and rebuild from the pandemic. With Better Work’s extensive experience, tools, and partnerships, I am convinced the program will succeed in exemplifying what a human centred recovery means, with greater industry competitiveness and decent work for all,” ILO Sri Lanka and the Maldives Director Simrin Singh said.  

Better Work’s presence in Sri Lanka began with its Academy initiative. This work involved engaging one of the country’s largest denim manufacturing groups (Orit Apparels Lanka) and its partner company, global brand Levi Strauss, on improving workplace cooperation and worker-manager dialogue. The aim of the two-year partnership was to build better communication between workers and managers at the factory level to drive long-term change.

Building upon the experiences with the Academy and on its global expertise, the Better Work program will support national constituents in Sri Lanka to promote international labour standards and promote more effective partnerships and sound industrial relations. 

The Better Work Sri Lanka will focus its interventions on: 

nOccupational Safety and Health, in the context of COVID-19 Management and Recovery, including using risk assessments, strengthening management systems, conducting leadership training and training of trainers, and awareness campaigns promoting improved mental health and wellbeing

nGender, Diversity and Inclusion, including leadership skills training and career development for women workers, implementation of the ILO C190 toolkit addressing harassment and violence in the workplace, and facilitating access to pregnancy-related healthcare, childcare and maternity protection

nSmall and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), including leadership and financial literacy training for SME management, implementation of a factory improvement toolkit including management systems and productivity interventions, and increasing visibility to supply chain partners

A series of launch events will take place in February, which includes primetime television and radio talk shows and webinars.