This May, the Sri Lankan National Cricket Team launched its 2019 world cup uniform. It incorporates recycled plastic waste from the oceans and was manufactured in Sri Lanka, by one of its leading apparel industries – MAS Holdings in partnership with Eco Spindles Pvt Ltd and the Sri Lankan Navy. This product is not only an example of how far the industry has come but also shows the on-going efforts to integrate innovation, use local skills and promote environmental conservation.

These innovations are assisted by the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR). Technology has transformed products and services, as well as consumer choices. 4IR is spurring economic growth, trade, investment and technology transfer through global supply chains. That is good news. The bad news: it is also disrupting labour markets.

Literature suggests that in developing countries with large unskilled populations, the impact could be rather adverse. While knowledge is becoming the most sought-after human capital, other types of human labour, manual work, for example, risk being replaced or becoming obsolete. The type of worker who will likely be left behind is also the focus of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8. The goal’s aim is to achieve “decent work for all”. But without a careful balance of the opportunities that 4IR brings, it can collide with the ambitions of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

That is why, at the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA)-Sri Lanka, we wanted to understand the impact that 4IR is having on low skilled workers. To do that, we examined automation (a consequence of 4IR) in a Global Value Chain (GVC), specifically in Sri Lanka’s apparel industry.

GVC’s economic gains

Our case study findings illustrate that Sri Lanka’s integration into the apparel sector GVC generated positive effects on economic growth and jobs. It means that it pushed the objectives set within certain targets of SDG 8 – like 8.1 (economic growth), 8.2 (technology upgrading) and 8.5 (productive employment). The State supported the establishment of joint ventures that created synergies among trade policies (SDG 17), economic policies (SDG 8) and education programmes (SDG 4), to benefit from the GVC.

Labour and automation

As the Sri Lankan industry matured, it took on more high-value products and the labour dynamic changed. During the early stages in the 1980s, manual repetitive work was plentiful and cheap. Then it became more expensive. But since 2008, wages have stagnated, as the industry needed to stay competitive In parallel, fast fashion demanded shorter and shorter lead times. That created more pressure to meet targets, and in turn, made the job more stressful. The result was labour scarcity. The drive for productivity and greater efficiency, plus labour shortage, led to the automation of only certain jobs (i.e. cutting). Other jobs (i.e. sewing) remained, as they require a human skill. Automation so far has not led to a major displacement of low skilled workers. But it has narrowed the range of jobs on offer.

Migrant workers, particularly women, lack good housing, government services, childcare and have to deal with the social stigma attached to working in this industry. Migrant women are also unable to balance their work and personal lives. This is less the case with non-migrant female workers, as they can commute to the factories from their homes. These type of social and institutional factors also influence their perception of what a decent job is. Thus they treat the job as something temporary, staying for a few years and returning home. For those who leave a job, there is a lack of safety nets and opportunities for re-skilling. These are risks for low skilled workers.

High skilled workers treat the job as a long-term career option. Plus, the industry is keen on innovation, supported by 4IR and is capitalising on this type of labour for new products and services. This type of skill is usually missing among the bottom rung of the workforce. Although some of the larger firms provide skilling opportunities for these workers, these skills are not easily acquired. The result is a perpetuation of precisely the inequality that SDGs are trying to address. The State should ensure that skilling requirements are given due attention and match them to the future labour market.

Environment and labour

The Cricket jersey brings us to the third element of sustainable development – the environment. This aspect is relevant to green jobs but is applied more from an industry perspective. Sri Lanka is trying to use technology and technical skills to make the manufacturing process itself “greener” and to develop products that are more sustainable. But that is not enough. It is also necessary to ask if the GVC itself is becoming more sustainable. In the context of SDG 12 (responsible production and consumption), it is important to look at not just the production but also the consumption side. It is the latter that generates a large amount of waste and pollution on a global level. This means that also the assessment needs to happen at a global level.

Integration into the GVC has enabled Sri Lanka’s apparel industry to make unprecedented advances. But achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda will be more complicated if we fail to consider the global implications of consumption driven by fast fashion. So unless there are concerted efforts to address the interrelation of economic, social and environmental issues at the GVC level, we may end up compromising our ability to achieve sustainable development in the long-run.

About the SVSS project

Southern Voice’s “State of the SDGs” initiative provides evidence-based analysis and recommendations to improve the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As a collaborative initiative, the program compiles a broad range of perspectives that are usually missing from international debates. This report aims to fill an existing knowledge gap. Southern Voice is confident that it will enrich the discussions on the SDGs and level the playing field with new voices from the Global South.

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