Paper short abstract:

This study explores the pandemic impact on female workers in Sri Lanka's apparel sector through a participatory approach. Findings reveal income loss, challenges in social distancing, and increased caregiving burdens. The research emphasizes the need for gender-sensitive policies, increased female representation in decision-making, and institutional support for vulnerable workers.

Paper long abstract:

1. Research Context

The COVID-19 crisis highlighted critical issues with global health crisis management policies, particularly in terms of inclusivity and equity. As the risks of contagious disease outbreaks increase in tropical regions, the need for more effective pandemic response policies is essential for economic stability and sustainable development. This study aims to identify the policy gaps which act as barriers to effectively respond to the pandemic, based on female workers’ perspective. Acknowledging the significant lack of gender inclusiveness during the pandemic response, this study calls for gender-transformative pandemic response mechanisms, taking in to account the intersectionality of the impacts on the female workers. We focus on the Sri Lankan apparel sector, employing participatory research methodologies to gather insights from a diverse group of workers.

Workers in lower-wage categories were disproportionately affected due to the impracticality of physical isolation in their line of work. The impact on the apparel industry itself, a key manufacturing sector in Sri Lanka, was severe, with disruptions in the supply chain leading to challenges in obtaining raw materials, partial or complete lockdowns of manufacturing plants, and a decline in global demand (Castañeda-Navarrete et al., 2021). Women, ethnic minorities, disabled individuals, and migrant workers were among the most affected segments of communities during the pandemic. The sector is represented by a considerable proportion of informal workers not covered by social assistance programs or migrant workers living in congested shared spaces. The nature of the industry, with closely situated workstations, often centralized air condition systems and workers frequently in physical contact with each other, increased the risk of contagion exposure. Against this background we explore three query lines: the impacts of the pandemic on apparel workers, the intersectionality of the impacts and the underlying policy needs to even out the inequalities.

2. Methodology and data

Compared to questionnaire surveys, focus group interviews are more suitable for an in-depth examination of feelings, perspectives and differences of perception among different groups of individuals. Eleven focused group discussions were conducted across the island. The respondents were selected based on characteristics that introduced different perspectives of the worker population to the responses. The 86 respondents (82 female, 4 male) were also represented evenly by married and unmarried individuals. Unionized workers (n=15), non-unionized workers, internal migrants (n=32), ethnic minorities (n=14), workers from war affected areas (n=11) and workers representing urban (n=27), sub-urban (n=24), rural and plantation sector (n=24) were included in the discussions. The ages of respondents ranged from 18-56 years old. All individuals were factory-floor workers. All the respondents provided informed consent prior to the interviews. Ethical clearance for the study was obtained from the Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo.

The methodology involved semi-structured discussions, voice-recorded and transcribed, complemented by group activities where participants created timeline diagrams of their experiences during the pandemic. Back translation was employed to minimize translator bias. Thematic analysis (Williams, 2008) and grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) were utilized, facilitated by NVivo 14 software. R programming language and R Studio were used in analyzing time-bound information and creating data visualizations.

3. Results and Discussion

Our findings highlight three distinct phases in the pandemic response of apparel industry workers. The emergency phase starting with the country-wide lockdowns resulted in income loss due to factory closures. The income loss particularly affected women workers who were migrant workers and informal workers. For migrant workers, securing lodging and food became challenging in this stage while informal workers were not eligible for unemployment benefits or support schemes by employers. Material aid provided at this stage lacked essential items like menstrual hygiene supplies. The disease incidences and panic were higher in urban areas compared to rural. Maternal health provision by public health officials especially in rural areas, was disrupted. The recovery phase was marked by challenges in social distancing and quarantine for migrant workers due to housing conditions and increased burdens for women workers with caregiving responsibilities, especially those with underage, elderly, or chronically ill family members. Long-term separation from family members due to travel restrictions appears to have increased the psychological stress on women workers.

The study highlights the need for pandemic responses sensitive to the needs of women workers and increased representation of women in decision-making at national and industry levels. Informed decision-making necessitates centralized data sets for swift access to information on vulnerable workers. Particularly, the issues with following social distancing at worker dormitories, in securing aid during emergencies could be avoided by furnishing the administrative bodies with adequate information on the workforce. Institutionalized support for women workers with caregiving responsibilities can alleviate physical and mental burdens during health shocks. Provision of childcare facilities or schemes to support paid care facilities for workers can have the added benefit of attracting more women workers to the workforce. Streamlining pandemic policy responses involves expanding existing employment benefits programs to cover abrupt unemployment due to crises. The factory floor workers who are vulnerable to contagious disease incidences due to the nature of their work must be adequately insured against such diseases which would alleviate the financial impact on workers as well as the industry during another disease outbreak.

Keywords: Apparel Industry, COVID-19 Impact, Pandemic Response Policy, Participatory Research Methodology, Women Workers