Strengthening the resistance of Global South women apparel workers through empowering their collective voice

Exercising employee voice is fundamental to developing workers’ self-organising capacity and realising their work rights. However, the voice of women apparel workers engaged in lesser-paid factory work is suppressed to ensure uninterrupted production in Global South sweatshops. This briefing paper explores how women apparel workers in Sri Lanka individually and collectively express resistance to unfair labour practices amid myriad voice suppression mechanisms. Based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with these women, the paper explores how they, despite being restricted to lower hierarchical positions on the apparel production floor, are not objects of suppression and subjugation. On the contrary, they resist exploitation in many informal ways, pointing to the need for a strong collective voice to productively have their say.