Human Rights Watch has urged the Sri Lankan government, factory owners, and the international clothes brands sourcing from Sri Lanka to protect the safety and employment rights of garment workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meenakshi Ganguli, Director-South Asia, Human Rights Watch, the Sri Lanka’s garment workers are entitled to work in safety and be properly paid even when they fall sick or need to quarantine. She urged the government and employers to fully implement existing agreements and guidelines, be transparent about COVID-19 infections in factories, and provide for workers’ welfare instead of intimidating and silencing them.”

As per the International Labor Organization, one in seven Sri Lankan women are employed in the garment sector. There have been repeated outbreaks in garment factories since April. Yet, five labor rights activists from four organizations have received complaints from workers that factory managers pressured workers to work without adequate occupational health and safety measures.

All five said that numerous workers from different factories complained to them that they lost pay when they fell sick or needed to quarantine. The activists said that the police or military personnel had intimidated them to stop them from speaking out.

Human Rights Watch urged the government and factory owners to take effective steps to isolate workers who test positive, and ensure that those receiving treatment or in isolation or quarantine receive full pay. It also urged the government to distribute relief packages to workers irrespective of which part of the country they come from, and follow ;previously agreed safety measures and guidelines.