The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Women textile workers complain of contract violations

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Wednesday, Sep 12, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Women textile workers complain of contract violations

Ananth Krishnan

Many of them take up jobs in spite of low wages and irregular payment

SIVAGANGA: Kamala was 18 when she received an offer to work in a textile mill. She was told that if she was willing to work for three years, she would receive Rs. 25 a day and Rs. 25,000 at the end of her contract. Kamala needed the money to pay her dowry and didn’t think twice about leaving her family at Konthakai and making the journey to a mill in Palani.

Now, she cannot regret her decision enough. After working more than eight hours a day for three years, she has only received Rs. 900, nothing more.

‘Hostel scheme’

Kamala’s story is not unique. Non-governmental organisations say hundreds of other women across Tamil Nadu have had similar problems in receiving their payment after working in textile and garment factories.

This sector has developed a ‘hostel scheme’ – women aged between 14 and 22 are contracted to live and work in mills, usually drawn by the powerful incentive of ‘marriage assistance’ at the end of the three-year tenure. According to the Department of Labour, there are 38,461 women employed under this scheme in Erode, Coimbatore and Dindigul districts.

The NGOs say the scheme is simply a banner under which mills exploit young women who are not fully aware of their labour rights. “We have had women come to us who say they had worked for three years and completed their contracts, but had been refused pay on some technicality,” says A. Aloysius, Convener of the Tirupur People’s Forum (TPF).

Kamala was told that she lost the Rs. 25,000 stipend for going home for four days during Deepavali.

Her contract, however, clearly states that she was entitled to do so.

U. Vasuki, general secretary of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), says the poor health conditions in the mills and the working hours are a violation of labour standards. “Women in the mills are working more than eight hours a day in poor sanitary conditions and are not being paid overtime.”

“False propaganda”

The industry, however, denounces her claim. A. Sakthivel, President of the Tirupur Exporters Association, says “false propaganda” by NGOs is aimed at destabilising a thriving industry. “The NGOs are trying to make money out of this,” he says.

“If you visit a textile mill, you will see that the living conditions are beautifully organised.”

Women who worked in the mills say they did not have any problems with the living conditions. P. Nagu, who also worked in a mill in Palani, says the women are fed very well and had “comfortable enough” living quarters.

But for her, that is small consolation, given that she too hasn’t been paid, two years after completing her contract. Nagu worked with around 600 other girls in the mill.

She says while there were several women who did receive their stipends, many of her co-workers are still waiting.

The women also say that even though their work was unsafe, they often worked without close supervision. Kamala describes her daily job as “hazardous.”

She recounts how she received a serious injury on her right thigh while working – a scar she still bears – but was not taken to hospital outside the mill, although she received some treatment on the spot.

Nagu adds that working in the mill severely affected her health. “I used to get a lot of stomach aches and headaches,” she says. “A girl who worked with me had to have her throat operated on.”

Claims to be probed

The State Government has begun to seriously investigate these claims. It has set up a monitoring committee, which has Collectors of several districts, including Coimbatore, Erode, Dindigul and Sivaganga as members.

Ramesh Kumar Khanna, Labour Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu, says the committee will inspect mills in the districts from where they have received the most complaints of violations and irregularities in labour standards.

For Kamala and her co-workers, this is too little, too late. Kamala is now 25, married with two children. She returned to the mill four times but was sent back on every occasion without a rupee. Kamala has filed a case against the mill in a labour court in Tiruchi, and spent Rs. 250 on lawyer’s fees, something she can hardly afford. Seven years have passed since she left the mill. And she is still waiting.

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