Compassion and transparency

Thursday, 8 October 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The fresh wave of COVID-19 infections has grabbed the attention of the nation. Understandably there is a deep desire for more information and many mainstream and social media-based organisations have been working around the clock to supply them. But it is worrying when these efforts also include releasing personal information that could undermine a person’s privacy and heap blame on a situation that is already difficult to deal with.

Most people work because they need a livelihood to support their families. After the curfew that was imposed in March, the daily wage earners and low income earners were the hardest hit. In order to resuscitate the economy and meet Sri Lanka debt repayments among other challenges, it was imperative to find ways to reopen factories and resume production. Factory work is often difficult and time consuming. It requires skill and dedication and these workers, who are predominantly women, have long played an irreplaceable part of Sri Lanka’s economy.

The apparel industry, which earns about $5 billion annually, is Sri Lanka’s largest foreign exchange earner and has provided employment to hundreds of thousands of people. It is neither fair nor right to heap blame on these workers, especially given the highly contagious nature of COVID-19, which has brought the entire world to its knees and infected presidents, artists, actors and heads of companies. As a small country playing an even smaller role in the global economy, Sri Lanka would be worse off if not for the dedication and hard work of these workers.

However, it is clear that the present situation has also shone light on the underbelly of the apparel industry and indeed on the way some employers deal with their employees. For decades there have been concerns raised about the quality of the lodgings and other facilities provided to workers and it is clear that more steps need to be taken to address these systemic issues within the industry.Companies also have to ensure that they are accountable and transparent when faced with such a serious situation and are forthcoming about the issues that they have encountered. These need to be discussed not with the intention of finding fault but to learn where the lapses were and finding ways to address them so that similar problems do not crop up in the future.

Companies need to be proactive about their communication and make an effort to be as transparent as possible. This should not be limited to just working with authorities, though that is a given, but also communicating with their stakeholders effectively, which includes the public.

There should also be an effort to do an honest assessment of any shortcomings, which is something industry bodies can also partner with so that more factories are not exposed to COVID-19. If there has been a lapse in professionalism and if someone in a place of authority has been negligent in being sensitive to the needs of employees then those matters also have to be dealt with.

COVID-19 is changing the way the world works and Sri Lankans have the choice of either letting the virus dictate terms and sow deeper discord between us or decide they will respond to its impact with courage and empathy.