Established with the mission to unite the workers organised in the free and democratic trade unions of South Asia and to allow for consultation and collaboration between member trade unions, SARTUC has come a long way, since its inception in 1988, to promote and protect the rights and welfare of workers in the region. We are continuously working with governments and other stakeholders to achieve our objective of establishing a powerful and effective organization for enhancing the dignity of labours through the establishment, maintenance and development of free trade unions at the regional level.

SARTUC has identified five major areas of work form its executive meeting in Sri Lanka on 17 December 2012. The proposed areas of intervention are – getting unions on-board in SAARC process, gender, labour migration, minimum wage and social security. We have prepared a report on each issue to identify knowledge gap and key areas of intervention for the welfare of working force in the region. We have also identified other areas for future deliberations, namely, South Asian regional Industrial relations, South Asian labor law, application of standards and decent work, green jobs and anti-trafficking.

We believe that with the joint effort of regional and inter-regional trade unions, the objective of safeguarding the rights and protecting the interests of workers, including migrant workers, can be accomplished. A collaborative effort including but not limited to government, trade unions and employers need to come together to protect the rights and dignity of workers.