The Garment and Textile Workers Union has demanded that the State government immediately withdraw all cases booked against garment workers during the violent protests in the city on April 18 and 19.
The union denied the accusation that garments workers were responsible for violent incidents, including the torching of many buses.
Association president Prathibha R. on Saturday told presspersons that although the protest was fuelled by the Union government’s recent norms regarding Employees Provident Fund, it was also an outburst, as workers were being exploited for many years. “Garment workers, majority of them are women, are subjected to all type of abuse. Women workers have been tolerating all this for their livelihood,” she said.
The revision in EPF rules would affect all those working in the organised and unorganised sector. “However, only garment workers took this issue to the streets. The lathicharge by the police on women workers shows their inhuman attitude,” she said.
The union condemned all incidents of violence and vandalism, which it described as an attempt to discredit their struggle.
