Sri Lanka Garment Project

ETI Experimental Projects

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Introduction to Project

Sri Lanka supplies ready-made garments to many of our retail members. In 1999 NGO and Trade union members raised questions about how robust auditing approaches were in identifying potential issues with working hours and trade union rights in the industry.

Project aims and objectives

To investigate ways of applying the standards and provisions of the ETI Base Code in the Sri Lanka garment industry, by developing rigorous and credible social audit methodologies for identifying issues, formulating corrective actions and assessing their impact.

Key achievements and challenges

• Building bridges between the different stakeholder groups in the UK and Sri Lanka.
  Coming from positions of mistrust, the Sri Lankan partners were not easy to persuade that there were ways of working together to improve labour conditions.
• Colombo Working Group established in August 2002.
  With representatives from each of the three groups, the Colombo Working Group has been meeting regularly since August 2002.
• Local Coordinator recruited in August 2002.
  The Coordinator convenes the group and ensures the process moves forward.
• Worker education leaflet produced in May 2004 and circulated to over 4,000 workers.
• Worker training delivered to over 4,000 workers in June 2004.
• A multistakeholder audit methodology developed.
• Trial audits conducted during spring 2005, including testing of the multistakeholder audit.
• Tri-partite visit of UK and Sri Lanka Group members held in Colombo in 2005 where members reviewed and agreed changes to audit methodologies following the first-round trials.

Plans

The project is now moving into its second phase of audit refinement and testing and is also exploring the possibility of establishing an industry-wide agency that could audit across the industry using the models refined by the project. Establishment of this agency will fall under ETI’s Capacity Building programme.

Which ETI members are involved?

Companies:
Gap Inc., Marks & Spencer, Next

Trade unions:
ITGLWF

NGOs:
Oxfam, Women Working Worldwide

As well as their suppliers, affiliates and partners in Sri Lanka.
 

For further information contact:

Liz Kirk, Head of Projects, liz@eti.org.uk.

 

 

Project documents:

1. Sri Lanka Worker Education Leaflet