The parties have expressed their common interest to address pandemic-era wage issues, aiming to help the global apparel industry - severely affected by the pandemic – to recover and build a sustainable market in Sri Lanka.

As declared in their Memorandum of Understanding, the main previsions are:

1. To effectively meet the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic in the textile and apparel industry. In each factory of the Employers established a Bipartite Health Committee, in charge of ensuring that the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health are followed at each plant;
2. JAAF and Unions agreed on the importance attached to  freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, in the  constitution of Sri Lanka.
3. The social partners should also establish a Bipartite Dispute Resolution Mechanism to address any alleged violations of worker rights in plants. The procedure provides that “in the event of one of the Unions raising an issue at a plant this will be sent to the Executive Committee of the JAAF and the Trade Union Collective for review. Where there is considered to be a valid complaint, JAAF and the respective Union will discuss to resolve the complaint within an agreed timeline of one month, unless extended by the mutual agreement of both parties. Both Parties agree that these complaints will not be discussed with any other third party (either in Sri Lanka or outside) whilst the dispute resolution mechanism is in progress.”

The wage topic, the most complex issue, is not yet included in the document, but unions and employers reached an understanding to continue to investigate and address the issue of wage loss during the pandemic, aiming to reach a separate agreement on it in the next months.