Work programmes for factory workers in Biyagama, Katunayake and Koggala Export Promotion Zones
With the inception of the open economic policy by Sri Lankan Government in the year 1977, a series of developmental programmes were inaugurated in the country. Under the Board of Investment (BOI) project scheme, many foreign investors opened up factories for manufacturing goods for export markets, providing employment opportunities to young men and women in the country.
These developmental projects are centered mainly in Katunayake, Biyagama and Koggala areas. Katunayake and Biyagama zones are located in the Western province and Koggala is in the Southern Province of the country. Majority of these factory workers are young women and men who have migrated from remote rural villages. This internal migration created a huge demand for housing and accommodation and other facilities in these zones. Houses were turned into hostels, every available space was used to accommodate factory workers – due to the huge demand for these rooms and hostels, the basic sanitary and safety of the tenants were ignored by the hostel owners. Hostels were too cramped with no proper ventilation, water and toilet facilities were minimal, and security and privacy of the tenants were ignored. Soon, clashes erupted between hostel owners and factory workers.
As young and inexperienced rural young women, who had come to live in a strange area without any parental supervision, they became easy target for sex traffickers. This created huge social problems such as – unwanted pregnancies, illegal abortions, sexually transmitted diseases, human trafficking etc.
JSSF therefore, after conducting series of surveys on the living and social conditions of these young women designed a plan of action to minimize those problems :
Introducing worker and hostel owner committees to discuss and find solutions between the two groups
Credit schemes for hostel owners to improve hostel facilities of the tenants
Conducting awareness programmes on human trafficking, health awareness such as prevention of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases prevention of T.B. human rights ad worker rights violations
Counseling services for factory workers
Skills development programmes
A program for Employability Skills Development for the factory workers who were made redundant was successfully concluded in the export promotion zones.
Another group of 934 garment factory workers, who were targeted to be made redundant were given training in IT, gem-cutting, customer relations services, hospitality services, automobile Repair Services and English language training.
JSSF educated over 40,000 women workers on occupational health and safety, over the past 10 years.
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