Analysis of an Oxfam International Campaign on Garment Workers in Sri Lanka, 2002-2007
Jeff Atkinson
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Abstract
From 2002 until 2006, the international development agency Oxfam ran a major global advocacy campaign called 'Make Trade Fair'. This paper looks at
one aspect of that campaign that took place in Sri Lanka and involved the formation of a coalition of unions and NGOs to protect the rights of garment
workers, as the industry went through a major restructuring that involved job losses. The campaign also aimed to improve working and living conditions for
these workers, and to advocate for them to be paid a 'living wage'. The paper looks at the successes and failures of this campaign, and identifies some of
the factors that contributed to or limited its achievements. It also looks at the role that Oxfam played as an active participant in the coalition and the
campaign.
About the author
The author is Advocacy Coordinator at Oxfam Australia, one of the affiliated organisations that makes up the Oxfam International confederation. As well as
being responsible for the 'Make Trade Fair' campaign in Australia, he was also a member of international Oxfam bodies involved in running the global
campaign, and of the Oxfam team that supervised this campaign in Sri Lanka. In 2007 he was a Practitioner Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies,
University of London.