Women workers of Brandix, staying at Pudimadaka, Haripalem and Thimmarajupeta villages, are living in a state of constant fear.
Once back from duty, they mostly remain confined to their villages and when strangers visit their village, they avoid coming out of their homes.
A delegation of the Left parties visited the three villages on Wednesday to get first-hand information from the affected villagers on the working conditions after they rejoined their duties. It took a lot of cajoling by the village-level leaders to convince the girls and their family members to come out and express their grievances.
“Security personnel are posted near the toilets to bang on the doors, if we spend more time in the toilet. We are discouraged from consuming more water so that we do not go frequently to the loo. During our 8-hour shift, we are given a 30-minute break. We have to stitch 120 pieces of undergarments in an hour,” the women said on condition of anonymity.
Some villagers were overheard telling them (delegation members) that they had been sent by the company management. “They may hand over your pictures and you may be fired from service. When this is the situation in the village, the plight of the women workers in the plant can well be imagined.”
“The situation has worsened after the strike. We are not allowed to meet in groups. The management representatives told us that they have received a mail (email) from the Chief Minister saying that the company need not pay more than Rs. 5,000 and workers will not be allowed to go on strike,” the workers told the delegation members.“This shows the love of our Chief Minister for the management of the Sri Lanka-based apparel company rather the people, who voted him to power. You need not worry that the company will shut down and throw you out of your jobs. No company earning Rs. 4,000-crore profit, will shut down,” CPI State leader J.V. Satyanarayana Murthy told them.
Second power plant
CPI(M) State secretariat member M. Krishna Murthy cautioned the villagers against allowing the establishment of the second power plant of NTPC at Pudimadaka as it would lead to a further decline in fish resources and force them to migrate to other districts for work. CPI District secretary A.J. Stalin condemned the lathi charge on women workers. The other delegation members include: K. Lokanadham (CPI-M), Kondaiah (CPI-ML New Democracy), P.V. Sundara Ramaraju (All India Forward Bloc) and Ganesh Panda (CPI-ML).
