This is written only as a revelation of my feelings towards a lot that deserves the attention of the whole community and not as a theoretical observation.

The concluding remarks of the memorandum issued by the Seethawaka Industrial Park Manufacturers’ Association titled ‘On sector specific living wages for apparel industry in the offing, a clarification’ and published in The Island Financial Review Section of Nov. 24, has tempted me to make some brief comments.

The penultimate paragraph has taken the whole matter into a few lines and indicates the necessity of educating the workers employed in the Apparel Sector in their spending habits.

To have a better idea of the attitude of the manufacturers Association, the paragraph is quoted here in full.

"They deserve a better deal at the hands of the trade unions and ALaRM, which can educate them to spend their income on needs rather than on wants than trying to bankrupt the industry sector in toto".

The subject at issue is the prevailing malnutrition among the workers in the apparel sector, and the above paragraph brings in a new vision into the trade union movement, which lacks momentum.

Though the idea of educating the workers on their spending patterns is seemingly innovative, I feel that it is not totally revealed. Hence, to do justice to both sides of the coin, I’m compelled to make a few comments on the ignored part of the argument.

The memorandum has extensively discussed the importance of nutrition of workers in the apparel sector and their failure to find a solution through their spending.

According to the article, the expenditure incurred by the workers (of whom a vast majority is women) in the garment industry is at least 12.4% less than the national average. Therefore, trade unions are urged to pay more attention to keep the working class healthy, rather than driving them to obtain a higher salary.

The memorandum also shows that the income of the workers in the Sri Lankan garment industry is comparatively higher than in many other countries competing with Sri Lanka. It should be noted that the indicated approximate gross salary for an employee in the garment industry in Sri Lanka is Rs. 7,700/- per month.

Masters don’t follow servants. What really happens is the other way round. In this situation, the first and the foremost task is to educate the masters in their spending habits instead of trying it on their servants. I feel such an action would be most appropriate and urgent.

It’s no secret that masters and their families spend not in thousands but in millions in their ventures abroad, visiting the beauticians and healthcare centres getting their extra pounds of flab out and casinos and so on.

In elucidating the matter we are obliged to go beyond the factor of nutrition. The incomes of the rich, and the poor are worlds apart, and keeps on widening all the time, enabling the masters to spend on a single meal more than what a working class family spends for a whole month.

To say that a dog in the house of a master enjoys more comfort, freedom, care, love and dignity than a female worker in a garment factory is no exaggeration.

Here it is not desired to go into details of their expenditure. However, it should be pointed out that spending an enormous amount of money on personal comforts when unemployment, malnutrition, disease are rampant among the millions is gross injustice. In religious terms it should be an unpardonable sin.

Hence it is suggested that the memorandum should include educating the masters as well in their spending patterns and lifestyles. Thus the view of the association would be more meaningful and complete.