Today, the textiles industry has an overwhelming presence in the economic life of India. The textile sector is the second largest provider of employment after agriculture. It plays a pivotal role through its contribution to industrial output, employment generation, and the export earnings of the country. Currently, the textile and clothing industry contributes about 14 % of industrial production, 5 % of the GDP, and 20 % of the country’s export earnings in terms of foreign exchange. The export value of $ 14 billion is expected to reach $ 40 billion at the end of the 11 th plan period. 35 % of India’s foreign exchange is earned by the textile sector (1). A substantial number of workers are recruited from the marginalized communities of rural areas and urban poor. Children, adolescents, youths, unmarried women, middle aged men and women are directly employed and there are approximately 38 million people employed in this sector. The textile industry is projected to grow from the current financial year 2005-2006 figure of US$ 47 billion produced goods to US$ 115 billion by the year 2012. This projected growth rate is 16 % per annum. Readymade garments account for approximately 45 % of the country's total textile exports. During the year 2004-05, readymade garment exports were US$ 6 billion, recording an increase of 4.1 % as compared to the corresponding period of 2003-04. In the first quarter of 2006-07, the readymade garment exports amounted to US$ 2.17 billion, recording an increase of 15.70 %in comparison to the corresponding period last year. This growth is expected to reach a higher level when the Foreign Trade Statistics of India publishes its statistical compilation report (2).
(1) “Time to foster competitiveness” by Anil. K. Kanungo Business Standard, Faculty, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi.
(2) Foreign Trade Statistics of India- annual report 2005-2006, Government of India.
Indian textile’s contribution to the global textile market is 3.5 to 4 %, which is not a big volume compared to topper China which is about 18.5 %. That India could provide employment to 38 million people with a low share in global market is an amazing fact compared to other countries. The Indian textile industry started dominating the canvas of industrialization in India right from the 19 th century because the foundations laid by the British are strengthened even after their departure by succeeding national governments. There is some weakness within the Indian textile and garment industry and textile ministry which impedes the growth of its share in the global market.
2. TIRUPUR GARMENT EXPORT INDUSTRY
Tirupur is one of the largest foreign exchange earning towns in India. The export oriented garment industry is spread across the eastern parts of Coimbatore district with Tirupur being the capital of the garment indus production. Today the garment manufacturing belt stretches from the outskirts of Coimbatore city to the western parts of Erode district. Tirupur city has been overburdened with the garment production process in terms of physical space, due to the unprecedented growth of the export industry which puts a strain on the infrastructure facilities of the area. Compared to other knitwear garment production centers in the country, Tirupur entered late as a cluster center involved in knitwear productions although it was part of the Coimbatore textile mill production region.
Over the years, Tirupur has grown as the largest cluster in terms of production and export. Garments export value was Rs. 0.19 billion in 1985. It was Rs. 37 billion by the end of 2003. Tirupur garment industry’s contribution to national knitwear garment export was 15% in 1981 and its share has reached 51% by the year 2000. Today it has touched the Rs 11,000-crore mark (2006-07) (3). The mammoth growth in garment production and exports is increasingly providing industry with influence over the policy decisions of the finance ministry.
This is visible as every year most of the demands of the textile and garment employers’ associations are accepted. For example, in the current financial budget (2006-2007) the Union finance minister reduced customs duty for polyester fibres and yarns from 10% to 7.5% and Central sales tax from 4% to 3% (4).
The Tirupur region’s garment industry is segmented into an estimated 4,250 units as follows: knitting/stitching- 2,500, embroidery-150, compacting and calendaring- 200, dyeing and bleaching-800, fabric printing-350 and other ancillary units- 250. Knitting and stitching units employ large numbers of workers. It is estimated by trade unions, researchers and employers’ associations that nearly 350,000 workers are regularly employed and the seasonal workforce even moves up to a staggering 500,000 workers (5). 70% of the workforce is employed in knitting and stitching units.
The total number of workers in Tirupur is only estimation. It is a known fact that the exact detail on number of workers is not available because there are many registered and some unregistered units operating. This investigative report focuses only on garment stitching units where large numbers of women workers are employed. Tirupur and Avinasi blocks including Tirupur, 15-Velampalayam and Nallur municipalities are covered in our baseline survey. 1,702 stitching units are identified and there may be approximately 170,000 workers with an average of 100 workers per factory. There are factories with more than 1,000 workers as well as factories with 50 workers. It is difficult to estimate the number of workers because of factors like reduced number of registered workers in Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Employees State Insurance (ESI) schemes, improper maintenance of records on workers, and contract system in employment. The face of the workforce is undergoing a drastic change in the past 10 years.
(5). Case study on SA 8000 standard in Tirupur garment companies by S.M.Prithiviraj-SAVE & ACILS, South India Hosiery Manufacturers Association Bulletin, Knitted together by Latheef Kizhisseri and Pramod John, Partners in Change.
The feminization of the workforce is rampant. Women, particularly young women, are recruited from far away districts of Tamilnadu and also in neighbouring districts of Kerala under various schemes. They are provided boarding and lodging either on company premises or other locations. They are employed on short or long term contracts.
Increasing demand for living wages and workers benefits entitled to them as per National and State laws by the unions in the 90’s resulted in employers using all kinds of schemes to attract female labour. Women workers are strategically recruited to keep away the core issues of right to freedom of association and collective bargaining within the textile sector as well as to deny legally entitled benefits and to increase the profit margin by employing a low wage adolescent workforce.
There are some positive aspects in recruitment in the garment industry. For example, the strength of children in the workforce has come down considerably in the last 5 years due to the activism of civil society organizations both local and international and the increased intervention of State. Currently, the age group of 14 to 18 years is the most important group in terms of recruitment and soon this category is expected to become a major section among the workforce. Girls are in a majority in this category. Approximately 32,645 young women workers are employed in 1702 factories in two blocks covered under baseline survey and among them 8,890 adolescent girls and young women workers are employed under the Sumangali and hostel schemes.
Today, in Tirupur’s garment industry, women workers have emerged as the major category of workers. Many of them are facing continuous and unabated labour rights violations like low wages, excessive working hours, verbal abuse, forced labour, discrimination, and absence of entitled benefits and no terms of employment.
4. SUMANGALI & HOSTEL SCHEME- A CASE OF CAMP LABOUR
The camp labour system which restricts individual workers’ freedom is considered as one of the worst form of working condition all over the world. Some labour rights analysts consider this as a form of bonded labour and similar to prison labour camp. Labour camps are well known practices in the history of labour exploitation. These labour camps have several commonalities with slavery and prisons. In these camps, workers were forced to do hard labour like mining, road construction, with no wages, or low wages, for long hours and their mobility was totally restricted. The penal aspect was prominent in such practices. Such a type of workers used to receive a low wage in some cases, but they never earned a wage to match their hard labour. This broader definition of the camp labour system seems to be applicable for women workers engaged in the Sumangali and hostel scheme of Tirupur garment industry.
The Sumangali scheme introduced in textile and garment industry is a form of camp labour operated systematically, though there are variations found here unlike the situation faced by workers elsewhere as camp labour workers. The working conditions match the worst labour camps. The sumangali scheme was quite an innovation by textile barons. 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 sumangali scheme 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. . 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.
Women garment workers recruited or contracted under this scheme have to stay in hostels either within the factory premises or guarded hostels run by the factory. The employers create agreements with a list of conditions which are signed by the parents of the workers. Women are not allowed to go outside the factory premises after their working hours. They are not allowed to meet their parents even in an emergency. They are permitted to meet their parents only on a specified day in a month with a limited time for interaction (first or second Sunday of every month for two hours). Even their parents need permission to meet them. They are paid very little, about Rs. 750-1000 per month, and have to work for more than 12 hours a day and even more than 12 hours during peak season. And they are allowed to go outside the factory premises for only 4 hours in a month. Even on those Sunday outings, they are accompanied by company body guards, mostly middle-aged women, who watch their movements. They are permitted to go to their home towns for 4 or 5 days during Deepavali or Pongal holidays only with labour brokers and these labour brokers must bring back the women workers after these two holidays once in a year otherwise the company will not pay their balance commission.
Adolescent, unmarried young girls of 14 to 18 years of age are preferred in the textile and garment industry for their efficiency in work output. Also the employers are eager to recruit unmarried women in the age group of 18 to 25 years. They have no bonus and they are denied legally entitled EPF, ESI or any other payment but they are promised an assured sum at the end of the scheme year , and are promised a lump sum at the time of their marriage.
The most horrible exploitation is that they may be terminated under false allegations before they complete their tenure and they will be deprived of their complete payment for the entire term of work. There are systematic methods adopted by the employers to prevent the completion of their 3 years of agreed employment. The employers reportedly write letters to their parents alleging that they are involved in sexual relationship with fellow workers or supervisors, particularly after the workers complete two and half years of the employment period. Then the parents usually take the women workers with them and in the due process they are paid less than the amount promised by the employers under scheme.
The camp worker system exists even in the companies with code of conduct certification. The achievement of the codes of conduct in improving the working conditions of garment and textile workers in Tirupur appears to be rather dismal. It should be viewed in the context that almost a decade is over since its introduction in export oriented garment and textile industry. The camp worker system and the exploitation of young girls have not been ousted.
5. OPERATIONAL PATTERN OF SUMANGALI SCHEME IN GARMENT INDUSTRY
In Tirupur, the Sumangali scheme is not implemented in the many of the companies located within the Tirupur city limit due to lack of space for construction of hostels within their factory campus. The Sumangali scheme and Hostel scheme are implemented mostly by the factories are which have potential for providing employment throughout the year. In the last 10 years, several textile mill groups have started garment production units within their spacious textile mill premises and they have constructed hostels for women workers. They are among the first ‘pioneers’ in introducing this inhuman scheme.
Unlike the Sumangali Scheme introduced in textile industry, this scheme is introduced in the garment industry without a name. The basic exploitative components of the scheme remain unchanged. We are using the term Sumangali Scheme since it has all the components of Sumangali Scheme implemented in textile mills. Many of the textile mill employers who have garment export factories and other big export factories informed us that the Government has not provided approval for the Sumangali scheme in garment industry so they are not recruiting women workers under this name but are implementing the scheme in similar fashion. They claim that the Sumangali amount or goodwill amount paid to the workers should be considered as PF and ESI.
Features of the Sumangali scheme are not uniform in all garment companies. There are many variations. For example: - some garment companies have an annual contract system. Similarly there are garment companies which provide initial training for 3 or 6 months after which the women workers will be given a 3 years contract employment. There are garment companies which do not pay ESI and PF for the workers but claim to keep this amount with their account and they will pay it back to the women workers after the completion of their employment period. During the informal discussions with the management, they are almost uniformly claiming that they actually pay it back to the workers. However, in our field investigation, we have found an altogether a different story. Many women workers are not aware of ESI and PF and some former Sumangali workers claim that they are not paid this amount after the completion of their working tenure.
Garment exporters have a reliable network of labour brokers and their dependency is complete in terms of selection of candidates, fixing wages and discharging the workers etc. Brokers recruit routinely the young women workers from south, central and eastern parts of Tamilnadu. Some women workers (they are few in numbers compared to other labour brokers) act as sub-agents for recruiting more women workers and they bring more women workers after their successful completion one year period.
Brokers paste posters and distribute notices in and around the economically vulnerable villages. Below poverty level families, single parent families, girls without biological parents, daughters of alcoholic fathers and poor families with several girls are systematically identified by the brokers. Then they initiate dialogues with the parents and provide “counseling” on improving family income. They show photo albums of factories and hostel facilities. Finally, they recruit their adolescent girls and young women.
In South Tamilnadu, a well known Tamil daily magazine often publishes a separate supplement on recruitment of women garment workers. The network of brokers in the poverty stricken rural area is enormous. There are sub-brokers and these sub-brokers are linked with the main brokers. Brokers make Rs 500 per worker and some well known brokers earn Rs 1,000 or more per women worker. Some big garment companies are reportedly paying Rs 5,000 per worker for a 3 years contract. Brokers are also paid by workers in the range of Rs 500 to Rs 1,000. Brokers earn both ways and they are responsible for tracing the workers in case they escape from the hostels. Some times they are asked to replace the worker by the garment companies.
There are some companies which do not recruit women workers under the Sumangali scheme but offer ‘free’ hostel facilities for women workers. Some small companies have rented houses and lodge their workers there. There are garment companies which leave the responsibility of controlling entirely to labour brokers who directly supervise the women workers. 80% of the women workers employed in embroidery section and checking section are either working under the Sumangali scheme or are internal migrant women workers. This approximate estimation is based on the monitoring of several factories which adopt the Sumangali scheme or hostel scheme.
6.NETHAJI APPAREL PARK…..
The Ministry of Textiles gave its approval for the creation of a world class Apparel Park to boost the exports of apparel in 2002. Tirupur Exporters Association seized this opportunity and established this Apparel Park on the National Highway 47 between Avinasi and Perumanallur with a contribution of Rs 15.25 lakhs per company for a 2 acre plot within the park. 150 acres of land was acquired at Ettiveerampalayam panchayat with a 50% concession on Government’s excise duty on registration (6).
There are 46 plots of 1.8 acres each and 8 plots at 3.6 acres each with excellent roads of 60 feet breadth for easy transportation of containers in the area along with a excellent infrastructure facilities like water supply, drainage sewerage, training centre, display hall, labour welfare facilities, production facilities of international standards, in addition to a captive power plant. The work was completed in January 2005 and inaugurated by Union Finance Minister Mr.P.Chidambaram. Total cost for infrastructure facilities, the captive power plant and the factory buildings is Rs. 92 crores. The Park has 53 companies manufacturing knitwear for exports. Additional investments are estimated at Rs.150 crores. The garment export companies operating in Nethaji Apparel Park (NAP) are manufacturing garments for European and North American buyers, many of whom have set up their code of conduct and auditing procedures for years. The NAP is actively implementing the Sumangali scheme and it is a major center for labour rights violations.
(6) Reports by Ministry of textiles and website reports of Tirupur Exporters Association.
This park is not open for labour groups and trade unions. Workers have no avenue to submit their grievances and violations of labour rights which is reportedly taking place. The garment companies producing garments from this park have an extensive network of labour brokers.
Brokers lay their nets in bus and railway stations to capture new comers to Tirupur and then recruit them for the companies. Many women workers working under the scheme in this park are transported by mini-buses from their closed hostels located in nearby places. They are not allowed to have any outside contact and in fact they are virtual prisoners. NAP is a highly guarded prison for the workers. Few factories located within the NAP have hired labour camps outside the park but within Avinasi block and some even around the Perumanallur region along the National Highway 47.
During our field investigation, it was found that Sumangali scheme women workers working in the NAP have been kept in an abandoned poultry farm with a little bit of additional alteration. Approximately 50 to 60 women workers sleep in 80 x 20 square feet area which is dusty and dingy. There is no space for privacy and they have 4 toilets for the entire group with minimum quantity of available water. There is no resemblance between their posh state-of-the-art factory with codes and standards and their camp hostel. They have to wake up in the early morning around 5 am to get ready before their bus arrives to pick up them for 9 am shift after completing their night shifts sometimes even after 1 a.m.
It was found that all the major export oriented firms have their units here. Garments for major international brands are produced and exported from NAP located in Ettiveerampalayam panchayat of Avinasi block, Coimbatore district. Women garment workers working under Sumangali Scheme for these garment companies have given verbal testimonies to us.
7. CASE STUDIES
The names of the victims and their companies are changed to protect their identities but the characters and the incidences are true and testified before the researchers and it is supported by others. Seven girls of Thanjavur are fully recovered from the trauma and the girl from Kerala is undergoing trauma care treatment.
7.1. TAMILARASI (Name changed)
17 years old Tamilarasi, daughter of Mr. Nedunchelian from Jayamkondan, Perambalur district is working in a unit of one famous group of garment export companies located in Rakiapalayam, Tirupur for the past one year. She is a helper in the checking section and staying in a hostel operated by the factory. She is working under an illegal contract of 3 years since the Sumangali scheme in the garment industry is not approved by the labour department. She is working in this factory after the factory promised to pay Rs 45,000 at the end of her 3-year working period. There will be deduction from this amount if the number of working days is not full throughout the year. The factory allows her to take 12 holidays per year and they are as follows: 4 days for Deepavali, 4 days for Pongal and 3 days for Tamil New year and one day for May Day. Her monthly salary is Rs 1,500 and she is paying Rs 500 per month from her salary for food expenses. She feels the hostel facilities are okay but they are compelling her to work even if she feels tired after overtime.
Normal checking unit workers get Rs. 70 for the regular shift, Rs. 105 including overtime and Rs. 35 more for late night overtime (till 1 am). Normal checking unit workers’ annual income is around Rs 40,000 per year. A normal worker earns Rs 1, 20,000 for 3 years and this will be more if they get normal increments and are paid according to the wage accord. Sumangali scheme workers get Rs 99,000 for 3 years.
Tamilarasi now blames her relative for trapping her in this scheme. Her relative is a former worker in the garment industry and now a labour broker who earns Rs 5,000 per worker recruited by him. Now she doesn’t want to terminate herself from this scheme and loose her promised Sumangali amount. She thinks of her family’s poverty and she wants to free herself in 2008. She prays that the days pass fast so that she quickly comes out of this prison-like factory.
Conclusion: - Several women workers are trapped like Tamilarasi . It is a clear case which exhibits how labour brokers and employers collectively recruit innocent women for cheap and forced labour. Many women workers tolerate the poor working conditions due to their family’s poverty.
7.2. VENNILA (Name changed)
Vennila, daughter of a Valparai plantation worker Mr. Subramanian came to Tirupur in 2006 and is working in a garment company located in Thirumuruganpoondi. She earns a weekly wage of Rs. 1,000 but she has to pay Rs. 150 per week for food. She is not working under the Sumangali scheme but is staying in a company hostel. She pays Rs. 16 per day as room rent and totally she pays Rs. 112 per week. Ultimately she earns Rs. 748 per week but her daily working hours start at 8 am and end at 9.30pm and three or four times a week it extends up to 12.00 am. She works 76 hours per week on an average. She feels that she is forced to work beyond her physical strength because she is staying in a company hostel. She is waiting for next Pongal holidays and wants to leave the garment industry once and for all.
She realizes that her physical strength has gone but she needs to wait till Pongal in order to get all pending settlements. She feels the exploitation of her company and she says the company knows that girls working under yearly contract in hostels will leave after one year because of mental and physical fatigue. She says that if Vennila goes then another girl will come and feel the same.
Conclusion : - Some companies understand that after their extreme extraction of work many women workers will leave after the agreed period. So they adopt this ‘use and throw’ despite knowing the fact that they won’t have regular workers. Their approach is get maximum work from each girl in a short period of time. During our study, we have found many such companies adopt this approach.
7.3. SHALINI (Name changed)
20 year old Shalini lost her father a few years ago and after her father’s death her mother remarried and started neglecting her. She came to Tirupur with her friend in search of a job from Vellaparai of Palghat district, Kerala. She got a job immediately in Star finishers for a daily wage of Rs. 55 where she faced sexual harassment from her male workers and supervisors. So she left the company and joined “X” garment company.
She faced similar harassment at this company and again left this company. Raghavan, a broker picked her when she was standing in the bus stand to go back to Kerala. Raghavan linked her to Mrs. Jayalakshmi, a leading labour broker and through her reference, she joined a Sumangali scheme job (Rs 20,000 after 3 years, monthly salary- Rs 1,500/- and Rs 650 for food expenses) in one garment company located at Kuppichipalayam, Koduvai. She started her work at 8.30 am and ended at 7 pm. After dinner their residential room will be locked from the outside.
She and her fellow women workers working under the Sumangali scheme are allowed just one hour in a month for purchasing their essential items with a women guard. Kaliappan, the male guard and the women guard used to hit her on the head and verbally abuse her. They didn’t allow her to go to hospital when she had continuous bleeding after menstruation. She used to cry alone in the factory. One day she jumped over the compound wall and escaped. After that she was rescued and morally supported by one trade union and now she is undergoing trauma care treatment. She is ready to challenge these companies legally so that women workers like her working under the Sumangali scheme should be rescued and the employers should be punished for sexual harassment, verbal and physical abuse, monitoring women workers through camera even in bathrooms, forcing the workers to work even if they are not well etc.
Conclusion: - Young women come to Tirupur in search of job as groups and they fall in the nets spread by labour brokers promoting the Sumangali scheme. Girls from broken families are equally vulnerable as young women from poor families.
7.4. VENMATHI (Name changed)
19 years old Venmathi is the daughter of Murugan of Kodaikanal and she came to Tirupur along with her friend. She is in the Hostel scheme and working in a garment company near Shanthi Theatre, Tirupur. She is working as a helper and she is paid Rs. 500 per week. She feels that the facilities in hostels are better but she feels that she is imprisoned by the company. She complains that even if she was not able to work after finishing 12 hours duty the company people used wake her up in 5 am the next day to do another shift. She wants to leave the company but it is not possible now. She is working for more than 72 hours per week and she is physically getting weaker. She is not able to cope with the pressure of working 72 hours per week. She is waiting for the next Deepavali holidays and once she leaves the company with the bonus then she will not turn back. She told us that she will inform every girl in her village that they should not join the Sumangali scheme or Hostel scheme in Tirupur.
Conclusion: - Forced labour is the major labour rights violation taking place underthe Sumangali scheme or Hostel scheme in Tirupur. This is the most common criticism found in the testimonies of women garment workers.
7.5. SEVEN GIRLS FROM THANJAVUR
Megala, Radha, Anitha, Rani, Latha, Manimegalai, and Renuka are the seven girls of a Thanjavur village who worked under the Sumangali scheme in Tirupur. They all belong to a dalit hamlet located in Thirupananthal block of Thanjavur district. Megala is aged 17 years (daughter of Mr.Thennavan), Radha is aged about 17 years (daughter of Mr. Murthy), and Anitha is aged 16 years (daughter of Mr. Mohan Dass). Renuka is 16 years old (daughter of Mr. Senthil), Manimegalai is aged 16 years (daughter of Mr. Tamilselvan), Rani is aged 16 years (father deserted), Latha is aged 16 years (daughter of Mr. Ravindran). The seven girls joined a checking center (behind Dhanalakhsmi theatre) in Tirupur under the Sumangali scheme through a broker living in their village panchayat but in a different hamlet. Among them Megala, Anitha and Rani are 8 th standard school drop outs. All of them are daughters of dalit landless agricultural workers of the hamlet located near Thirupananthal.
The girls got terrified just after joining the company. The supervisors used to slap them for making mistakes and verbally abuse them. During the first six days, their working hours were as follows: 12 hours, 14 hours, 12 hours, 16 hours, 14 hours and 14 hours - totally 82 hours. They are promised a monthly salary of Rs. 1,500 for the first year and an increment of Rs 100/- or Rs 200/- based on their skill in the next two years. After the completion of 3 years then they will be paid a sum of Rs 20,000/- as marriage assistance.
The girls started making attempts to contact their home over telephone which is not possible under the tight security in the company. One day almost two months after joining this company they got an opportunity to make a telephone call. The legs of Anitha and Latha started swelling because of excessive working hours. So, they made a secret call to their parents about the terrible working conditions in their factory. Madhavi is a community worker of their village and she is a literate person in the village to whom the village often goes for guidance since most of the people are illiterate. She came to inquire about the health conditions of the girls in Tirupur. At first the company refused to allow her to meet them, but after she made a lot of noise she was allowed to meet the girls.
Upon seeing Madhavi the girls started crying and asked her to take them back to their village. Madhavi asked the management to allow the girls to return home but they refused. The company’s lawyer came and threatened that she will be attacked if she doesn’t go away. She went out to seek help. A woman called Sabitha introduced her friends and asked them to help her. One communist party worker and his friends took pity on her. When they intervened the lawyer attacked them and one of them got injured in the melee. Along with the support of these friends, she rescued the girls and the management, sensing trouble, allowed them to go. The seven girls of Thanjavur district were rescued by the brave Madhavi. She narrated her story with tears in her eyes. The lawyer and the employer in the scuffle pulled her hand and she was embarrassed about this incident. Finally, she and the girls are happy that there woes are over.
Conclusion: - Tirupur garment industry’s recruitment has invaded even the remotest rural villages. Several young women are recruited for this scheme from the hamlets of dalit and other marginalized communities.
7.6. OVERVIEW OF CASE STUDIES
During this study, we have documented 25 case studies and found that there are repeated stories of similar labour rights violations. So we present an overview of case studies with the following issues confronted by the victims:-
1. Brokers, relatives, family friends and former Tirupur workers in their villages act as recruiting agents in south and central Tamilnadu and central parts of Kerala.
2. Most of the Sumangali workers never know their friends or relatives are brokers before arriving in Tirupur.
3. Deduction of salary for food and the actual amount under the Sumangali scheme are not known to them before coming to Tirupur. False promises are repeatedly observed in several cases.
4. Verbal abuse is found among several cases and physical abuse is found in some rare cases.
5. Employers never want the scheme workers to complete 3 years and after two years they wait for some problem to deny the promised Sumangali amount first and then renegotiate for lesser amounts than the promised with the brokers.
6. Many women workers wanted to escape from their clutches rather than fight for their Sumangali amount in case of gross violation of their rights.
7. Forced labour in the form of compulsory overtime, compulsory late night shifts, excessive working hours and inadequate pay for overtime are the key problems identified in the Sumangali and hostel schemes.
8. Lack of sleep, mental and physical fatigue, health problems related to tiredness, low calorie food and malnutrition, problems related to menstruation cycle and headache are the health disorders found among women under the Sumangali scheme.
9. Women workers in the Hostel scheme undergo psychological trauma due to the fact that they live in dungeon-like spaces.
10. Women workers in the Hostel scheme are frequently woken up at midnight or in the early morning to attend to urgent shifts. They face fatigue due to lack of sleep.
11. All of them realized that their pay is low only after starting to work under the Sumangali scheme.
12. There is a feeling of insecurity among all the women workers irrespective of the scheme.
13. Rs. 15 to Rs. 17 per day is deducted from their monthly salary which is in the range of Rs. 750 to Rs. 1,500 for all the women workers under the Sumangali scheme or Hostel scheme. This means that their net monthly salary is in the range of Rs. 300 to Rs. 1000 per month. The quality of food is not nutritious and the companies earn a considerable sum per annum through their manipulation in purchase of food materials and the quantity allocation in distribution of cooked food. Workers are forced to buy other products in the canteen and they are not allowed to make any purchase outside.
14. The salary range differs from company to company but their food deduction per month is uniform with only a two rupee variation. This is contradictory to the advertisements and promises made by the brokers since they attract the women workers for this scheme by informing them that the hostel and food are free.
15. Recruitment of adolescent girls in the age group of 14 to 18 years with false promise by the brokers is a clear case of child trafficking. Many of the brokers recruiting girls below the age of 18 years could be charged and penalized under the law for child trafficking.
8.CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY & LABOUR STANDARDS
Despite all these benefits achieved through their clout with Finance Ministry, the employers associations are worried over the continuance of Service Tax and Fringe Benefit Tax. Tirupur Exporters Association is worried and they are annoyed over the increase of Education Cess from 2% to 3%. They demand the exemption from Education Cess for all the manufacturing processes linked with the garment industry.
It is interesting to note the approach of employers’ association as they demand elimination of Education Cess which is vital for our education system, but at the same time they want to exhibit social responsibility for publicity mileage. For example “Implementation of schemes for the benefit of the society and public, promotion of constructive co-operation with workers with fair division of rewards and general upliftment of quality of life of Tirupur” (7).
This should be viewed in the context that even the lesser profit generating industrial sectors in our country are not making any such unethical demand. Education Cess is instrumental in rejuvenating our educational system through the SSA- Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. It is showing some positive results like increase in enrollment rate of children in schools and subsequent fall in drop out ratio in Tirupur region where thousands children belonging to garment workers live.
Some of the top brands have established purchase offices in this region. These popular brands are speaking about corporate social accountability and many have their own code of conduct which is applicable for the companies that are involved in garment production. Many such buyers have accepted MSIs (Multi- Stakeholder Initiatives) and social accountability standards of their own choice and they promote codes of conduct of their own and oversee the implementation in their supplier factories.
(7). www. tea.org
Today, the numbers of codes of conduct available are too large to mention. However the content of code of conducts are similar and they are to protect the workers rights in a range of issues such as wages, working hours, freedom of association, non-employment of children and absence of forced labour, non- discrimination, health and safety standards, benefits like ESI, EPF and bonus, terms of employment and social security.
MSIs and standards lay down different levels of benefits, conditions of work and environment. The codes of conduct set up by the buyers normally base them on these standards and levels of benefits.. The codes of conduct are publicized in the countries where the buyers are actually selling the garments. High standards of production are used as a tool for advertisement and sale. Therefore, the buyers are under obligation to ensure that the codes of conduct are truly practiced. In the regions where the consumers are socially and environmentally conscious the retailers project an image of being socially responsible business houses. They attempt to guarantee that the goods sold by them are produced under fair labour and environmental conditions, and consequently project a glorified image of them. This is grossly misleading and unethical.
Exploitation of poor rural young women by the employers who export garments to International buyers should not be viewed as an isolated incidence that buyers have nothing to do with instead it should be viewed as a failure of international brands and retails to implement corporate governance of social responsibility. Today European buyers have a larger responsibility to implement codes of conducts in their supply chain because of the initiatives of European Parliamentary Union member Mr. Richard Hewitt. This is an opening point for labour rights activists of developing countries like India to help the victims to seek justice.
It is important that victims of the Sumangali scheme can seek justice and compensation if their companies’ buyers happen to be companies of European Union origin. The recent resolution passed on 13 th March 2007 in the European Union “calls on the Commission to implement a mechanism by which victims, including third-country nationals, can seek redress against European companies in the national courts of the Member States” (8) Further, civil society organizations with an experience in defending workers rights can approach the European Unions’ ombudsman on CSR with a demand to conduct an independent inquiry on CSR issues at the request of companies or any stakeholder group.
(8) Reports published by European Union Parliament on corporate governance and accountability
9. RECOMMENDATIONS
A. Garment exporters and buyers/ brands
Garment exporters and buyers should ensure that the camp labour system (Sumangali and hostel scheme for women workers) within their supply chain is removed. The ‘no forced labour’ component listed in the codes of conduct should be implemented letter and spirit. They should rehabilitate the existing women workers under this scheme either as regular workers or relive them with meaningful compensation. Recruitment age of women workers should be above 18 years. Child trafficking should be discouraged in their recruitment process. All the existing agreements with the workers should be cancelled. They should not use labour brokers and contract labour system. They should cooperate with the civil society organizations and government in providing psycho social care for traumatized women garment workers under the Sumangali and Hostel scheme.
B. Government
National and state government should appoint a panel on abolition of the camp labour system in the garment industry. State government should establish a separate welfare board for textile and garment industry workers to carry out remedial measures on improving the living and working conditions. State Women’s Commission should review the status of women workers. They should develop and implement a mechanism to protect women workers in collaboration with the State labour department.
C. Civil society organizations
There is a need to conduct consistent and strategic advocacy actions against the Sumangali scheme in both garment and textile industry. There are two levels of actions one should initiate, one at national level and another one at international level. Immediate action will be leading a national level advocacy based on the study of the Sumangali scheme to eradicate child and adolescent workers in the camp worker system. The content of this study should be disseminated to Members of Parliament, Labour Department, National Human Rights Commission and political party leaders.
A counseling and awareness campaign on realities of the Sumangali scheme should be conducted at source districts to prevent internal migration of women and girls falling in the hands of exploitative garment factories. Social groups like tribals, dalits and other marginalized sections of the society in the economically weaker districts of Tamilnadu should be the focus area for carrying out a campaign against joining the Sumangali scheme. A national level People’s Tribunal on the Sumangali Scheme should be conducted with judicial, human rights and labour rights experts. The People’s Tribunal report on the Sumangali scheme should be submitted to the highest civilian authorities of the nation.
International campaign and advocacy on this issue is very much required, especially using the recent EU resolution and lobbying with different groups involved in creating codes of conduct for business. Frequent monitoring of the Sumangali scheme and hostel scheme should be conducted to create wider data base and related actions. Workshops, seminars and consultation meetings with stake holders on Sumangali and hostel scheme should be conducted to generate public opinion against these schemes.
In the Tirupur region, a rescue and rehabilitation facility for Sumangali scheme victims should be established by the Tirupur Peoples’ Forum. Trauma care and livelihood support programs for Sumangali scheme victims should be initiated. A legal review report should be prepared for advocacy and campaign actions with the consultation of experts on law, workers and gender (women and adolescent girls) rights. Prevention of child trafficking (girls in the age group of 18 years or below) should be the top priority area for the civil society organizations.
ANNEXURE
A. METHODOLOGY
The methodology of the study was designed after considering the massive area to be covered in two blocks of Coimbatore district namely Tirupur and Avinasi blocks. Initial estimation on number of companies engaged in adopting the Sumangali scheme was massive and confusing. So the research team was forced to devise a new strategy to complete this study within 5 months. We have divided these two blocks into 4 zones for our convenience. A baseline survey on number of companies adopting the Sumangali scheme and Hostel scheme was the main task of the study. This baseline survey was conducted for a period of 4 months in order to prepare an initial quantitative analysis of workers and companies. Totally 1,702 garment companies were covered in 2 blocks under the baseline survey of this study.
Focus group discussions with women workers under the Sumangali scheme were conducted at their home during Deepavali and Pongal Holidays and during their Sunday outings. 10 focus group discussions were conducted with maximum 10 and minimum 6 women garment workers and fellow factory workers. Adolescent girls and women workers under the Sumangali scheme/ hostel scheme/ camp labour system took part in the informal focus group discussions.
About 25 case studies were documented by direct interviews with adolescent girls and women workers. Photographs of case studies were compiled and only few workers were prepared to pose. Secondary data collection was conducted by interviewing trade union leaders, labour department officials, experts in labour departments, district social welfare department officials, wardens of working women hostels and labour contractors/brokers. Finally, the report writing was completed within 30 days after the field work with an appropriate review of the study.
This study was conducted in a non-conventional method. It is not an academic study, but an investigative study to launch a series of activities for the protection and promotion of the rights of adolescent girls and women workers. It is conducted with a major focus on baseline survey for identification of companies in Tirupur and Coimbatore block and primary data collection by conducting interviews with women workers, trade union leaders, labour brokers and social activists. The prison-like atmosphere in Sumangali scheme or hostel scheme factories and subsequent non-accessibility of women workers is the main reason behind the enormous time taken for field work. It took 5 months to complete this study.
B. STUDY TEAM
This study was conducted by S.M.Prithiviraj, executive director, CARE-T (Community Awareness Research Education Trust) for Tirupur People’s Forum for Protection of Environment and Labour Rights. Field investigation support was provided by staff and volunteers of CARE-T namely I. Mohan Dass, M. Mothiraj, Prof. T. Venkatesh, T. Vivekanandan and N. Mayavan. Mr. A. Aloysius, Convener of Tirupur Peoples Forum for Protection of Environment and Labour Rights provided support to complete this study. Further Mr. C.J.George, Mr. Reggie and Ms. Mini Srinivasan have provided valuable suggestions and alterations in finalizing this report.
C. TABLES
Table-1
Estimated garment women workers under Hostel Scheme
| No |
Name of the Block (Panchayat union)/ Municipality |
Garment companies covered in baseline survey |
Garment companies implementing Hostel Scheme |
Total number of women workers |
| 1 |
Avinasi Panchayat |
79 |
31 |
8565 |
| 2 |
Tirupur Panchayat |
635 |
62 |
13990 |
| 3 |
Tirupur Municipality |
707 |
83 |
7390 |
| 4 |
Nallur Municipality |
91 |
8 |
1350 |
| 5 |
15- Velampalayam Municipality |
190 |
7 |
1250 |
| Total |
1702 |
191 |
32545 |
Table-2
Estimated garment women workers under Sumangali scheme
| No |
Name of the Block (Panchayat union)/ Municipality |
Garment companies covered in baseline survey |
Garment companies implementing Sumangali scheme |
Total number of women workers |
| 1 |
Avinasi block |
79 |
12 |
5950 |
| 2 |
Tirupur block |
635 |
12 |
2840 |
| 3 |
Tirupur Municipality |
707 |
1 |
100 |
| 4 |
Nallur Municipality |
91 |
0 |
0 |
| 5 |
15- Velampalayam Municipality |
190 |
0 |
0 |
| Total |
1702 |
25 |
8890 |
