For Sri Lanka’s forex-earning garment workers, it’s a daily battle for survival

An analysis of Sri Lankan Garment industries and its labour force, a crucial element for the country’s economy and labour force and the nation’s leading foreign exchange earner, amid economic crisis.

“I came to Colombo with a dream. Now I have lost it,” the young garment factory worker said, sounding dejected.

She left her hometown in Jaffna, in northern Sri Lanka, six years ago to take up a job at the Free Trade Zone in Katunayake, about 35km north of capital Colombo. “The current cost of living is so high that I barely manage to survive, let alone save a penny,” she said, requesting anonymity. For many like her in the island nation, the economic crisis of last year has hardly let up, although shortages have eased and queues have vanished.

At the end of June, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka pointed to a “sharp decline” in headline inflation, to 12%, and a decrease in food inflation to 4.1%. Except, the figures are in relation to last year’s dramatic rise in prices, as headline inflation surged past 70%, and food inflation hit almost 95%. While cold data may show a reduction in the rate of inflation, consumers do not feel any relief yet. Especially since wages and incomes, across most sectors, have remained stagnant.

Sri Lanka’s apparel industry, which took off on a big scale after the country liberalised its economy in 1977, has proved crucial to both its economy and labour force. It is the island’s largest foreign exchange earner — $5.6 billion in 2022 — and employs nearly a million people, mostly women, directly and indirectly across some 400 factories. Garments made in Sri Lanka are exported largely to the U.S. and the EU, to big brands, including, C&A, GAP, H&M, Marks and Spencer, PVH and Victoria’s Secret. The growth and global reach of the industry would make for a great “success story”, if only workers did not have their own story to share.

“Even if we work really hard and make some 30,000 rupees a month (roughly ₹9,340) with all the incentives, it is worth much less today. We are unable to afford the very basic life we lived before the crisis,” said another worker, explaining how her salary has drastically shrunk in real value. “A small bun at the tea shop round the corner used to cost 50 [Lankan] rupees (roughly ₹13). Now it’s 150!” She, too, requested not to be named, fearing punishment for speaking to the media. “Even if this job is hard and pays much less than I need, I can’t afford to lose it. I must somehow support my children,” the mother of two said.

The apprehension of workers is not baseless. Far from isolated personal experiences, their accounts reflect the predicament of scores of workers employed in Sri Lanka’s apparel industry, according to unions and labour rights organisations.

“The financial pressure on workers, especially manpower [contractual] workers, is very high. Despite their best efforts braving exacting working conditions, their wages are just not enough to cope in our country’s current situation,” contended Ashila Dandeniya, Executive Director of Stand Up Movement. “Desperate to supplement their incomes so they can support their families, many young women are taking up commercial sex work in the area. And there are many challenges that come with that,” she said. Instead of spending on “so-called” CSR activities, manufacturers need to pay workers a fair living wage, in her view.