"Brandix responds to Human Rights Watch article on Garment Workers", 21 July 2021

Sri Lanka’s leading garment manufacturer, Brandix has responded to an article by the Human Rights Watch titled ‘Sri Lanka: Protect Garment Workers’ Rights During Pandemic’, which urged the Sri Lankan government, factory owners, and the international clothes brands sourcing from Sri Lanka to protect the safety and employment rights of garment workers

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Brandix has sent the following response to HRW to clarify the statements made in the article:

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On the article on the HRW website, dated July 12, “Sri Lanka: Protect Garment Workers’ Rights During Pandemic”, paragraph 13 states – “Following the major outbreak at a Brandix factory in October, trade unions filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka alleging that soldiers “rounded up” 98 workers in the middle of the night and arbitrarily detained them in an unsanitary quarantine facility.”

We would like to clarify that this does not refer to Brandix employees. While the pandemic posed many challenges for us, particularly as a labour-intensive industry, our employees’ health and wellbeing remained our priority. [...] We are happy to note that all affected team members and their families returned home safely.

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On 6th July 2021, the Minuwangoda Magistrate’s Court concluded the case on the investigations into the spread of COVID-19 at the Brandix Minuwangoda facility in October 2020. In summary, the proceedings confirmed that there has been no deliberate negligence or oversight [...]. The company welcomes the conclusion of the case and reiterate our position that all protocols were followed at all our facilities as required by health authorities and will continue to do so in the face of the continuing pandemic.