做正确的事?COVID-19、个人防护装备和斯里兰卡服装案例

IF 1.3 Q3 INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS & LABOR
K. Ruwanpura
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引用次数: 4

摘要

斯里兰卡服装通常被认为是全球服装的典范,因为它对全球道德准则的高度关注和越来越环保的生产。与这一形象相一致的是,随着COVID-19大流行的爆发,斯里兰卡服装工业家也迅速转变方向,开始生产个人防护装备(PPE)。当南亚和亚洲的其他供应国步履蹒跚时,斯里兰卡服装公司将目光投向了其他可能性——在2020年5月之前获得最大的个人防护装备订单之一。与其他供应商形成鲜明对比的是,斯里兰卡服装公司还签署了一项三方协议,以保护工人的就业机会,并确保工资不低于最低工资。一切似乎都很好。然而,到2020年10月初,斯里兰卡服装成为媒体关注的焦点,当时最大、最负盛名的服装生产商之一BRANDIX爆发了一起covid - 19阳性病例,随后迅速成为导致社区传播的集群(Jeewandra等人,2021:14-15)。从那以后,这种关注一直没有消退。这是斯里兰卡失势的一年,也是反思和消化可能原因的好时机——部分原因是疫情,但我想说的是,支撑全球供应链和斯里兰卡服装本身的结构性因素也是原因之一。从孟加拉国到柬埔寨,在大流行开始时,工厂关闭的报告频繁发生,失业、工资损失和拖欠的工人承担了成本(Carswell、De Neve和Yuvaraj, 2020年;Cook et al. 2020;Toppa, 2020)。大流行初期对劳动者是一个打击。尽管工人们忍受着苦难,反动势力还是呼吁废除现行的劳动法,这在印度尤为明显(Gaur, 2020;滚动到2020年)。在斯里兰卡,一些雇主也呼吁暂停劳动法(Amerasinghe, 2020),但斯里兰卡的劳动阶级获得了表面上的安全。到2020年5月25日,IndustriALL(2020)报告了一个成功的三方协议。这项解决方案的实质是,在5月和6月期间没有工作的工人“将获得其工资的50%或1.45万斯里兰卡克朗(77美元),以较有利者为准”。此外,“雇员公积金(EPF)和雇员信托基金(ETF)的工资缴款也将支付给工人”(工业:未分页)。相应地,服装部门已成功地转向
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
Doing the Right Thing? COVID-19, PPE and the Case of Sri Lankan Apparels
Sri Lankan apparels is often considered the poster child for global apparels, given its heightened attentiveness to global ethical codes and increasingly eco-friendly production. In tune with this image, Sri Lankan apparel industrialists were also quick to shift gears and move into the production of personal protective equipment (PPE) with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While other supplier countries in South Asia and Asia faltered, Sri Lankan apparels had its sights on other possibilities – securing one of the largest orders for PPE by May 2020. Alongside and yet again in contrast to other suppliers, Sri Lankan apparels also struck a tripartite agreement to protect worker jobs and secure wages at no less than minimum wages. All seemed well. Yet by early October 2020, Sri Lankan apparels came into the media spotlight, when the outbreak of a COVID-positive case occurred at one of the largest and most reputable apparel producers – BRANDIX, which then fast became a cluster that led to community transmission (Jeewandra et al., 2021: 14–15). This attention has not faded since then. It is a year since this fall from grace, and an opportune time to reflect and digest possible causes – partly due to the pandemic, but I want to argue also due to structural facets underpinning the global supply chain and Sri Lankan apparels itself. Reports of factory closures were frequent at the start of the pandemic, from Bangladesh to Cambodia, with costs borne by workers with job losses, lost wages and non-payment exposed (Carswell, De Neve and Yuvaraj, 2020; Cook et al. 2020; Toppa, 2020). The early days of the pandemic were a blow to labourers. Despite hardships endured by workers, reactionary forces called for the stripping of prevailing labour laws, particularly pronounced in India (Gaur, 2020; Scroll In, 2020). In Sri Lanka, too, some sections of employers were calling for suspension of labour laws (Amerasinghe, 2020), but Sri Lankan labouring classes secured a semblance of security. By 25 May 2020, IndustriALL (2020) reported a successful tripartite agreement. The essence of this settlement was that workers not in work during May and June “will be paid 50 per cent of their wages or LKR 14 500 (US $77.00), whichever is more beneficial”. Additionally, the “employees provident fund (EPF) and employees trust fund (ETF) contributions on the wages will also be paid to workers” (IndustriALL: unpaginated). Correspondingly, the apparel sector had secured success in shifting to
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来源期刊
Global Labour Journal
Global Labour Journal INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS & LABOR-
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12.50%
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