Appeals and Demands

 

TPF PELR Secretariat
Tirupur People’s Forum C/o SAVE,
for protection of Environment 5, Iswarya Nagar,
and Labour Rights. Near Lakshna theatre,
Dharapuram Road ,
K.N.P Colony (P.o),
Tirupur – 641 608.

Date : 05.07.07

To,
The District Collector,
Coimbatore.


Respected sir,

Sub: Requisition to regularize the sumangali scheme in garment and textile industry.

Greetings from Tirupur People’s Forum
Tirupur People’s Forum for Protection of Environment and Labour Rights is a coalition formed by the civil society organizations working in Tirupur region, Coimbatore district and the source districts of the internal migrant workers who migrate and work in our district.

This forum was founded in 2006, after an in depth research on the living and working conditions of internal migrant workers working in garment, textile and power loom sectors of Tirupur region and Coimbatore district. Today, there are 12 civil society organizations working in Coimbatore district and 6 source districts of Tamilnadu where internal migrant workers originate and settle here temporarily or permanently.

This forum provides counseling to workers at times of their distress and rehabilitate them both here and the source districts. Recently this forum organized a consultation meeting at Tirupur on Status of women garment workers under hostel/sumangali schemes and it was addressed by Trade union leaders, Academics, Intellectuals, literary luminaries with a concern for social issues and empowerment of women workers.

Recently, an investigative study on Sumangali, hostel & camp labour schemes for young women workers in Tirupur garment industry was conducted for the past 5 months. This study covered Tirupur and Avinasi blocks including Tirupur, 15-Velampalayam & Nallur Municipalities of Coimbatore district in our baseline survey. The result found several progressive and regressive issues related to the industry and workforce.

SAVE Tirupur, CARE-T - Coimbatore, CSED - Avinasi, Don Bosco Anbu Illam - Coimbatore, Don Bosco Nest - Tirupur, Kanavu – Tirupur, Mariyalaya - Coimbatore, Mariyalaya - Tirupur.

HOPE - Dindigul, Maitri Society - Theni, Nava Jeevan Trust - Thirunelveli, PSYCHO Trust - Karur, SAND Trust - Sivagangai, TEST - Virudhunagar, Vasantham -Theni.

Tirupur is one of the largest foreign exchange earning towns in India. Today the garment manufacturing belt is starting right from the outskirts of Coimbatore city to the Western parts of Erode district. Tirupur being the capital of the garment industrial production touched the Rs 11,000-crore mark (2006-07) in export revenue. Tirupur region’s garment industry has segmented into an estimated 4,250 units including around 2,500 knitting/stitching units. It is estimated that nearly 350,000 workers are regularly employed and the season time workforce even move up to a staggering 500,000 workers. 70% of the workforce is employed in knitting and stitching units.

In our study, we have found that the enforcement of labour laws and labour standards are not fully implemented in the supply chain of garment exporters. We have found that many women workers are employed under hostel/sumangali scheme particularly recruited from rural districts of Tamilnadu. In our baseline covering 1702 companies, 32,545 women workers are working under hostel scheme in 191 export and supply chain companies engaged in garment stitching. Similarly, there are 8,890 women workers working under “Sumangali Scheme’ in 25 garment export companies. The term Sumangali is not officially used in implementing this sumangali scheme unlike Textile mills.

Sumangali scheme introduced in textile and garment industry is a case of camp labour operated systematically, though there are variations found here unlike the situation faced by workers elsewhere as camp labour workers. The sumangalischeme was quite an innovation by textile mill employers. The practice of dowry, though legally banished, persists in the Indian society. The scheme gives a chance to young women workers to earn a dowry and get married. The sumangalischeme was introduced almost a decade ago by the employers of textile mills in Coimbatore district. Slowly the same kind of practice started creeping into the garment production.

It is an attractive scheme for rural communities with a poor economic background which struggle to cope with the evil of dowry, lack of employment guarantee of minimum 200 working days in rural area and the decline in agricultural productivity. The legally banished dowry system is still practiced by the community since it remains a social custom with community patronage. It is difficult for unmarried women and their parents to escape from the clutches of the dowry system. Employers are exploiting this social condition to improve their profit margins by implementing this scheme.

Brokers recruit routinely the young women workers from different district of Tamilnadu. Brokers paste posters and distribute notices in and around the economically vulnerable rural villages. Below poverty level families, broken families, single parent families, girls living in relative house, daughters of alcoholic fathers and poor families with several girls are systematically identified and recruited by the brokers.

Forced labour in the form of compulsory over time, compulsory late night shift, excessive working hours and inadequate pay for overtime are the key problems identified in the sumangali and hostel schemes. Verbal abuse is found among several cases and physical abuses are found in some rare cases. Lack of sleep, mental and physical fatigue, health problems related to tiredness, low calorie food and malnutrition, problems related to menstruation cycle and head ache are the health disorders found among women due to Sumangali Scheme. Women workers in Hostel scheme undergo psychological trauma due to the fact that they live in dungeon and small space in which they live. Women workers in Hostel scheme are frequently woken up in mid night to attend urgent shifts. They face fatigue due to lack of sleep. All of them realize that their pay is low only after started working under Sumangali Scheme. Sumangali scheme and Hostel scheme workers complain low wages, excessive working hours, lack of freedom and dignity, no benefits and forced labour.

In this context based on the outcome of the investigative study and its sensitive nature of findings linked with the international market, Tirupur People’s Forum for Protection of Environment and Labour Rights has decided not to publicize the names of the garment export companies and the international garment brands which outsource garments from our region. The forum wants to protect the market of our garment industry for the economic welfare, prosperity of our region and the guaranteed employment of 500,000 workers.

At the same time, this forum believes that many course corrections can be achieved in the promotion of workers rights of women workers particularly workers employed under hostel/sumangali/camp labour system in garment industry. The forum has established a set of demands based on its report and they are as follows for your consideration.

Demands of Tirupur People’s Forum for Protection of Environment and Labour Rights

  1. We want the district administration should regulate & register all hostels accommodating women workers by forming a committee of civil society organizations by district social welfare department under the chairmanship of the district collector. This committee should inspect and monitor the living conditions of the hostels.
  2. All theexisting women worker working under these schemes (Sumangali/Thirumagal Thirumana Thittam/Camp labour or any other jargon used for this kind of employment) should be employed as regular workers
  3. All the women workers of these schemes should be paid as per Tirupur wage accord in garment industry and the normal wages in Textile mills.
  4. Labour brokers, the unregistered private employment agencies and the individuals engaged in recruitment of women workers under this scheme should register themselves with the relevant department as well as in the social welfare department considering the sensitive nature of such requirements.
  5. We demand that the garments and textile mills who recruit women under these schemes should maintain attendance register, proof of payment, employment agreement, details of working hours and they should submit the details to the labour department and the district collector.
  6. A committee for monitoring women workers under these schemes should be formed by civil society organizations engaged in workers welfare board, representatives of line departments, trade unions and representatives of press club under the chairmanship of district collector with powers to inspect, rehabilitate in case of abuse and releasing women workers who want to leave the company.
  7. All the women workers should be registered under Employment Provident Fund, Employees State Insurance in Coimbatore district.
  8. Also we request to you recommend the state and central governments to initiate remedial measures as per the recommendations of our reports

Yours sincerely
Convener, TPF.

TPF PELR Secretariat

Tirupur People’s Forum C/o SAVE,
for protection of Environment 5,
Iswarya Nagar,
and Labour Rights.
Near Lakshna theatre,
Dharapuram Road ,
K.N.P Colony (P.o),
Tirupur – 641 608.

Date: 17.07.07

 

To

The District Collector,
Collectorate,
Erode.

Sub : Requisition to take appropriate step to release compensation to the victimed girl.

Respected Sir,

Greetings from Tirupur People’s Forum.
In the continuation of the memorandum with demands, we would like to bring to your notice, that Miss. Kumari (age 18 year), D/o Mr. Madasamy belongs to village called Irattaikulam, near Sankaran Kovil, Tirunelveli District was working in a Textile unit, Excel Goodwin at Sembagapudur near Sathiyamangalam. She was working as a helper under 3 years contract system in Sumangali scheme.

The girl, Kumari who works under three years contract lost her right hand when she was working with the machineries in the factory. She was admitted in Ganga Hospital, Mettupalayam road, Coimbatore on 2 nd July 2007 at 2.50 am. She was immediately taken to operation theatre and the right hand was amputated from the knee. She was admitted for medical observation in room.no 349 (IP No. 1542) for one week. She was discharged on 11 th July 2007. We came to know from some local people at Thirunelveli that she did not turn back to home till yesterday.

In this situation we, the Tirupur People’s Forum would like to take some rehabilitation measure to the victimed with legal compensation for her lively hood and preventive efforts to stop girls under Sumangali scheme.

In this regard, we would like to request you to take step with humanity support to the girl to get compensation as per legal procedure at the earliest.

  Thanking you
With regards,
Convener and TPF Members.


SAVE Tirupur, CARE-T - Coimbatore, CSED - Avinasi, Don Bosco Anbu Illam - Coimbatore, Don Bosco Nest - Tirupur, Kanavu – Tirupur, Mariyalaya - Coimbatore, Mariyalaya - Tirupur.

HOPE - Dindigul, Maitri Society - Theni, Nava Jeevan Trust - Thirunelveli, PSYCHO Trust - Karur, SAND Trust - Sivagangai, TEST - Virudhunagar,