SRI LANKAN garment trade unions accused Next on Monday of union-busting over its closure of its only unionised factory in the south Asian country.

This comes after the British-based company posted a £1.08 billion profit forecast.

On May 19, Next abruptly closed its only directly owned factory with a recognised trade union at Next Manufacturing Ltd (NML) Katunayake, without proper notice, consultation and in violation of Sri Lankan labour law.

Next told more than 1,400 workers by WhatsApp message that they had lost their jobs.

A joint statement on Monday from the Free Trade Zones and General Service Employees Union (FTZ & GSEU), Clean Clothes Campaign, War on Want and Labour Behind the Label slammed the factory closure plan.

The statement said that the FTZ & GSEU, which represents the workers, have secured safer and better working conditions, including better pay and a significant decline in sexual harassment. 

“The plant chosen for closure is the only unionised Next factory in the country. Two other non-unionised factories have been left open. 

“The implications are clear: this is union-busting dressed up as a business strategy,” it said.

The statement added that unions “have received reports that some workers were pressured to sign letters of resignation after they were falsely informed that doing so would ensure their compensation package.”

Next claims that the closure was because of high production costs, declining orders and high wages. 

The signatories are demanding a reversal of the closure decision and for workers to be reinstated.

They also demand an explanation as to why a factory was closed where workers had won better pay and conditions and why the closure was announced by WhatsApp.

War on Want executive director Asad Rehman, one of the signatories, said: “Next has chosen soaring profits over workers’ rights, closing the only factory where a union had won real gains shows contempt for both the law and basic human decency.”