Trade unions are calling on UK shoppers to rethink where they spend their money this Christmas, after fashion giant NEXT abruptly shut down its only unionised clothes factory in Sri Lanka—just days after announcing record profits.
In May NEXT revealed the sudden closure of its factory, citing “increasingly high operating costs” and claiming it was “unable to make the factory economically viable.” The decision came shortly after the company reported a £1.08 billion profit and approved shareholder dividends worth up to £99 million.
The closure came only weeks after workers secured a modest pay rise – worth less than £10 a month – and improvements to grievance procedures and harassment protections following a long campaign.
The news was delivered to the factory’s 1,416 workers via WhatsApp, informing them that they had lost their jobs overnight. Some of those affected had worked there for over 30 years.
The NEXT factory in Sri Lanka
The factory, which was the only one in Sri Lanka with a collective bargaining agreement, was closed without the legally required consultation with trade unions—an apparent breach of that agreement.
According to reports, NEXT then pressured workers into signing resignation letters by suggesting they could lose compensation if they refused, circumventing local labour laws on mass termination.
Meanwhile, NEXT’s two non-unionised factories in Sri Lanka remain open, with production orders redirected there and to other factories paying lower wages.
NEXT’s Sri Lankan workers
Anton Marcus, joint general secretary of the FTZ&GSEU union which represents Sri Lankan garment workers, condemned the move: “By tearing up a legally binding agreement, NEXT has undermined these fundamental rights for workers.
“We are asking UNISON members to raise the profile of this case in the UK and support our members calling on NEXT to reopen the factory, reinstate the workers, and come to the negotiating table in good faith.”
UNISON international officer Gemma Freedman added: “This case perfectly illustrates why the UK needs a new law placing a duty on companies to prevent abuse and to hold them accountable when they fail. The power of union-to-union solidarity, however big or small, should never be underestimated.”
The article NEXT, unions and making millions first appeared on the UNISON National site.
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