COLOMBO – Garment factory owners in Sri Lanka have hit back against criticism from human rights campaigners who urged them to do more to protect their workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sri Lanka Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) says the Human Rights Watch (HRW) NGO's report, which made the call, was misleading on a number of counts and that its claims were unsubstantiated.
It insisted that "extremely robust" health and safety protocols, reporting and enforcement mechanisms had been established, in close collaboration with public health and government authorities, to protect garment workers.
