A social awareness programme was launched last week to recognise the contribution of garment workers to the country’s economy and to encourage potential employees to join the sector. The Rs. 21 million (approximately) project of which the Board of Investments (BOI) is contributing 50 percent of the investment, with the joint Apparel Associations Forum (JAAF) and Ministry of Textile Industry Development taking up the balance, will include advertisements in the media and promotions in 150 villages island-wide. "Abhimani: the pride of the nation" is set to challenge and change the attitudes and perceptions - almost always negative- society has about the women who toil and sweat in factories of the apparel sector which accounts for 45 percent of total exports. Apparel exports amounted to Rs.3.2 billion in 2007. The garment industry employs around 300,000 people; 90 percent of whom are women. The industry is facing a shortage of labour because young women seem to be reluctant to take up jobs in factories because of negative perceptions and as a result several investors who had shown interest in setting up garment factories are holding back because they are sceptical about the availability of labour, S. Ravindran, Committee Member of the government’s 200 Garment Factories Project, told The Island Financial Review. The industry said that bad perceptions and attitudes have stuck despite the fact that things have changed for the better over the decades and that these women now enjoy dignity of labour. "They contribute to our country’s economy in an immense way and many of them are the bread winners of their families", said Ajith Dias, Chairman JAAF. "They are not only supporting their families as breadwinners, but they educate their children or younger siblings. Many have even been able to build their own homes and have directly contributed to developing their own villages. They are the pride of their families. "The industry not only does business the ethical way by maintaining ethical working conditions in factories that are constantly monitored by our clients but we also provide plenty of opportunities for the women to progress in their careers". This awareness campaign will be carried out by Ogilvy Action (OA), who conducted a study of their own to substantiate the claims made by the industry that the women are doing well with their lives, contrary to public perceptions. "We did not want to get into the campaign without convincing ourselves about what our client was saying," Sandya Salgado, Director/CEO, OA said. Teams were dispatched to areas where garment factories are located in clusters such as in Kurunegala, Polonnaruwa, Panadura, Ratmalana, Katunayake, Koggala, Sitavaka and Deraniyagala. They spoke to over 150 people including priests, principles, teachers, law enforcement officers, boarding-house tenants, grama sevekas, factory managers, parents, midwives, shop owners and even taxi drivers to get an insight as to what people thought of garment factory girls "Before we went out we thought we would get negative feed back. But that was not the case. Everyone we met had only positive things to say about the women who work in garment factories," said Lakmini, a member of one of the fact-finding teams dispatched from OA. OA discovered that rural communities showed a tendency to value the efforts made by these women who made tremendous contributions to their families’ wellbeing and that of the community as well. "Many of the women themselves, to whom we spoke to as well, said that they managed to build their own homes, find their own dowries or even educate their children," Lakmini said. For a woman working in a garment factory, finding a husband was next to impossible because of bad perceptions and the stigma attached to their profession. But this too has changed. OA found out that it is no longer an issue with many women married and sometimes playing the lead role in providing for their families. "We agreed to proceed with the campaign when we saw for ourselves that it was not all whitewash, but there was some truth to what the industry said," Ms Salgado said. Deepal Nelson, Chairman Sub-committee on Local Image Building, JAAF, said that the campaign will last 5 to 6 months and is the first of many programmes aimed at changing public perceptions and making people more aware of the good things in life these women have been able to get for themselves. "However there are many problems the women face in the free trade zones, particularly when it comes to accommodation and we are looking for investments to improve them", said Channa Palansuriya, a Board Member of the BOI. Ask anyone in the apparel industry and they will tell you everything is good and that social activists, labour unions and the media gave wings (and continue to do so) to isolated incidents and has resulted in the stigmatisation of these women. While the apparel sector as a whole has changed the lives of not only the women, but their dependants, and entire communities for that matter, this social awareness drive is long overdue. The women, and the few men, who have toiled deserve more than the wage they receive. They deserve our respect; our deepest respect. |
