Breaking the bondage

Women who were forced into bonded labour in textile industry have formed a union to save young girls from exploitation

Young girls rescued form bondage from a spinning mill in Sathyamangalam recently.

As an adolescent, V. Jagadeeswari had many dreams that girls from privileged families have taken for granted: riding scooters and cars and speaking English fluently.

A native of Nadupatti in Tiruchi district, she travelled to work in a spinning mill in Dindigul every day for over a decade. She was one of the several thousand adolescent girls lured into “bonded labour” in vogue for over two decades under the name ‘Sumangali Thittam’ in textile mills that promise a “monetary package” to meet their marriage expenses.

Now, Jagadeeswari is a 40-year-old mother of two sons. Her elder son will be an engineering graduate shortly. But she had to work in a spinning mill, sometimes for 16 hours. She has asthma and underwent hysterectomy, caused by long hours of standing.

Nithya began working in a spinning mill in Dindigul at the age of 15. After seven years of hard labour she was rescued, but still endures a nagging back ache. “While spinning, you remain standing. I did not know that the difficult pregnancy was due to my work,” she recalls.

Around 2,000 such women, who lost out on their childhood dreams and forced into bonded labour at a young age, have formed the Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union. They now have members in five districts and plan to extend their support base to five more districts soon.

Bonded labour Though the country has laws to protect children there is none for children in the 15 to 18 age group Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act addresses children below 14 years of age The Factories Act has capped the age of employment at 14 years of age In 2014 by amendment The Apprentices Act 1961, capped the age of employment at 14 for designated trades; for hazardous industries it is 18 years

At a consultation meeting held in Chennai on Tuesday to eliminate modern forms of bonded labour in textile industry in the State, the women met with NGOs, trade unions and lawyers to draft a set of demands they plan to present to the State and Central governments.

UNICEF’s child protection officer R. Vidyasagar says young girls take up jobs as they have very little opportunities to continue education after Class VIII. The young girls employed under ‘Sumangali Thittam’ do not qualify for protection under the Apprentice Act or the Factories Act.

“Relaxing the Apprentice Act will only add to their misery. They are full-fledged workers, but employed as apprentices. Apprenticeship is only for six months, but theirs extend for several years,” he says.

After a day-long session, the women have decided to create a core committee and draft a set of demands. While they want a separate action plan from the State and Central governments, they are looking for the creation of an Act to protect adolescent girls too.