US trade official observes significant progress in Sri Lanka worker rights

The United States Assistant Trade Representative for South Asia Michael J. Delaney says there has been a significant progress with regard to workers' rights in Sri Lanka in recent years and that the review of the US GSP facility would conclude soon. Delaney, who was on a brief visit to Sri Lanka, made these observations during a roundtable discussion with several media personnel.
"As you know we have an outstanding petition filed by an American trade union concerning Sri Lanka workers' rights which we have been discussing with the government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and stakeholders for a long time," he has said. He has observed that the discussions that had taken place during the past few years have been useful and productive. "We hope it will progress further in the future," Delaney has said. He said the review of the US GSP was an ongoing process and the information gathered during this visit would be useful in the on-going review of the petition against Sri Lanka. According to Delaney, there has been a significant improvement in this matter which the US government can take into consideration in dealing with the GSP petition against Sri Lanka. "I am pleased to announce that Sri Lanka's case appears to be progressing well at the crucial US GSP review hearings," Delaney has noted. However, he has not set a time frame for the conclusion of the review process, but said the US was keen to conclude the matter soon. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) filed a petition in 2008 with the US Government requesting a review of worker rights in Sri Lanka. The organization resubmitted an updated petition last year asking the US Trade Representative (USTR) to remove Sri Lanka from the list of eligible developing countries to receive GSP. As part of the annual review process, on June 30, 2010, the United States accepted the AFL-CIO petition on Sri Lanka to review whether it met GSP eligibility criteria related to worker rights. During his visit Delaney met a range of government officials from the Industry and Commerce Ministry, Labour Relations and Manpower Ministry, External Affairs Ministry, Economic Development Ministry and the Board of Investment (BoI).