Exploitation of young girls who have completed their higher secondary course but could not pursue education has continued unabated, mostly in rural areas, due to abject poverty, ignorance of both young girls and parents, and negligence or inaction of government officials.
The harassment suffered by the two girls who were injured as they tried to escape from a spinning mill is only the tip of an iceberg.
“The life of a young [girl] worker is terrible in mills. They are not paid even minimum wages and are not given weekly-offs, PF or ESI benefits. Parents are not allowed to meet their daughters. Young workers are exploited to the maximum. It is nothing but a violation of basic human rights,” says CITU district secretary K.R. Ganesan.
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“Keeping workers inside the mill campus is against law. But they are corralled in a room inside the mill campus. We are tired of giving complaints to the Labour Department. Capitalising on poverty, the mill management has managed to convince parents not to seek legal help,” he added.
Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU) general secretary S. Dhivya, who managed to talk to the injured, said that the girls had to crawl for a distance from the mill campus to reach the road. One of the passersby helped them reach Dindigul GH.
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Meanwhile, in its complaint lodged with the Vedasanthur police, TTCU has appealed that the girls be handed over to their parents.
It has also demanded an inquiry covering all existing workers in the mill to ensure their safety.
TTCU district secretary Celin Rani said forced labour is prevalent in several mills.
The government should appoint a special team comprising parents of girls working in the mills, a woman psychiatrist, and representatives from an NGO and trade union to know the willingness of adolescent labour, she said.