Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe added an advantage to the list of advantages that will be enjoyed due to the reinstatement of the European Union Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) facility, by assuring that the garment workers’ wages will increase considerably. The garment exporters of the country were asked to increase the salaries of their employees with the restoration of GSP Plus so that the Government could comply with the EU requirements. The exporters not only gave a positive response to the proposal, but also agreed to increase the employees’ provident fund contributions.
Sri Lanka’s apparel sector was badly hit by the withdrawal of GSP Plus in 2010 and with its reinstatement, the closed garments are expected to reopen and provide better salaries to the workers.
