Esquel Sri Lanka has four factories located in the Yakkala, Koggala, Ekala and Kegalle districts, of which the Esquel Sri Lanka factory in Yakkala established a branch union of the Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees Union.

The union had signed a collective agreement with the company. In mid-2020, the company had proposed a voluntary retirement scheme for the employees, citing the Covid epidemic and a drop in orders. But the union opposed this proposal but anyway the company implemented this despite the union’s objection and around 350 employees accepted this voluntary retirement scheme. After that the management announced that the company has decided to close the factory at Yakkala as a result the union negotiated with the management and to secure employment the union was able to sign an agreement to transfer all the employees to the Ekala factory with the same terms and conditions and facilities.

By that time a branch of another union had been established at the factory in Ja-Ela, but the majority of the workers were not members of that union and all the workers who came to the Ja-Ela factory from Yakkala were members of the Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees' Union.

Accordingly, the employees at the Ja-Ela factory also sought membership in the Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees Union. Therefore, a new branch union office committee was elected at the Ja-Ela Factory. A One-day training workshop for the newly appointed Trade Union Branch Officers and Committee of the Free Trade Zones and General Service elected branch Union was held on the methodology of conducting training workshops on labor laws, fundamental principles of Trade Union and the Role of a branch union.