Indian Scenario:
“The Indian
textiles and garment industry India plays an important role in the global
textiles and
garment
industry. It is the second largest producer of textiles and garments and one of
the few
countries that
covers the whole value chain - from the production of cotton to the last
stitches1.”
According to the Indian Ministry of
Commerce, 51 per cent of the total textile exports in 2000-2001,
were from the garment sector alone.
Nearly 80 per cent of Indian clothing exports go to the USA and the EU where
they face quota restrictions. The Textile industry in India has several vast
sectors within it, viz, the mill sector, the clothing or garment sector, the
handloom sector and the power loom sector.Each of these sectors employs
millions of workers and also contributes significantly to the national economy.
The developed nations no longer produce goods that could be produced in so
called developing and lesser developed nations through abundant of cheap
labour. The easing of MFA (Multi Fiber Agreement) in recent years cleared all
the decks for the second and third rung nations to become work houses/ garage/
shopping alleys for many of the activities of the developed nations.The garment
sector, however, has emerged as the most globalized sector in the world today.
This sector alone employs about 3.6 million workers. A large segment of the
garment sector comprises of a vast domestic market, while another significant
segment caters to the export market. Most of the units producing for exports
are in Tirupur (Tamil Nadu), Delhi and Mumbai.
Tamil Nadu:
Within this context Tamil Nadu ranks
high in its establishment of industries and factories which
is currently servicing the textile
industry linked to retail stores across Europe and feeding into the
Indian economy. Textile Industry of
Tamil Nadu is the forerunner in Industrial Development and in
providing massive employment in the
State. It is predominantly Spinning-oriented. The State Textile
Industry has a significant presence
in the National economy also. Out of 2049 large and medium
textile mills in India, 893 mills
are located in Tamil Nadu. Similarly, out of 996 small units in India, 792 are
located in Tamil Nadu. The 893 large and medium textile mills include 18
Cooperative Spinning Mills, 17 National Textile Corporation Mills and 23
Composite Mills. The spinning capacity is 14.75 million spindles2.The industries and factories are predominantly established
in the Coimbatore, Dindigul,Erode, Tirupur, Theni and Viruthunagar Districts of
Tamil Nadu. In these places the buzz word is industry-friendly.
Globalization encourages
contractualisation and informalisation of production and economy
leading to severe exploitation of
the workers. The textile and clothing industry is one of the worst
affected in this respect. In Tamil
Nadu majority of the textile and garment workforce is women and
children. Among them women workers
in Textile mills are about 65% mostly unskilled workers. The
age group of the workers is
predominantly in the range of 14 to 21 years. There are child labourers
both girls and boys in the age group
of 11 to 14 years and workers in the age group of 21 to 30 years are in fact a
minority segment among the total workforce.
1 AEPC (Apparel Export Promotion
Council) website, “Fact Sheet”.
2 Tamil Nadu State Statistics
(2008-09)
Sumangali thittam situation in Erode District
Sumangali Thittam:
It is within
this context Sumangali thittam was
born.Called by different names—“Sumangali
scheme,” “Mangalya Thittam”or “Subhamangala Thittam”— various cotton textile
spinning mills under this contractual bind promised young girls that “if they
worked for three years, they will get Rs 30,000 each at the end of the third
year (besides wages3).” On the face of it, the scheme looks
quite simple and attractive. Jobs are given to young, unmarried girls, mainly
between 16 and 20 years of age, for a period of three years. On completion of
three years, the girls are given ranging from 30,000 to Rs. 50,000 in bulk,
especially for the purpose of their marriage. Poor parents send their daughters
for these jobs, as a viable option for getting the girls married or for
settlings old
loans. Dowry,
still being the largest of problems in the country, the parents feels that by
getting a lump sum under Sumangali Thittam, they would be able to give dowry at
the time of their marriage. Many of these girls, from the poverty-stricken and
remote villages of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and with no other alternative
employment opportunities, fall prey to a new system of bondedness in the name
of the Sumangali System in the textiles and garment units of Tamil Nadu. These
girls are mostly
from the dalit
caste groups, predominantly"
Arunthatiyar
community is at the lowest in the caste hierarchy; their socio-economic
condition is quite pathetic; this sometimes compels Arunthatiyars to send
their children as coolies to different industries.This apart, these people
fully rely upon certain local money lenders for getting money for which they
in turn pay back more not only in terms of money but also in terms of
laborious labour.
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Push and Pull Factors: Sumangali thittam
The following factors are push and
pull factors leading to the Sumangali System: poverty and illiteracy of the
parents/family; tactics and mushrooming of brokers/brokerage agencies;
dominance of age-old belief that for a girl marriage is the ultimate; parents
of girl need to save for her marriage and dowry; low wages and undignified work
at native village for poor and marginalised; less number of days of work (no
regular work) in the villages; work in spinning mills and garment considered
easy and decent (under a roof, no scorching sun, with accommodation and food
facilities). Adolescent, unmarried young girls of 14 to 18 years of age are
preferred in the textile and garment industry for their efficiency in work
output. Also the employers are eager to recruit unmarried women in the age
group of 18 to 25 years. They have no bonus and they are denied legally
entitled EPF, ESI
or any other payment but they are
promised an assured sum at the end of the scheme year, and are promised a lump
sum at the time of their marriage. According to the AHRF study, only 30% of the
girls had gone beyond eighth standard. Most were school dropouts which also
show the massive need for guaranteeing education for these young children.
4 A Study to understand the situation
of Arunthatiyar girls employed under the Sumangali Thittam Scheme in
Coimbatore,Dindigul, Erode, Tirupur, and Viruthunagar Districts-Tamil Nadu
(AHRF: 2009)
Study conducted
by Arunthatiyar Human Rights Forum (2009) covered 250
girls from age group of 14-18 years to understand the impact of Sumangali
thittam on young girls in Tamil Nadu. a)175 Girls who
previously worked in Sumangali thittam b) 50 Girls who were
still working under the Sumangali thittam
c) 25 Girls who were willing to enrol under the Sumangali
thittam.
Key Findings:
Nature of work involved long hours of standing (around 12
hours) and working with bare hands operating dangerous machines. Nearly all
girl children were forced to work and faced verbal and physical abuse.
1/5th of the girls working were illiterate. 48% of the girls
were enrolled into the scheme through the
agents residing in the area. 98% quoted ‘poverty’ as the
reason for joining the Sumangali Scheme.
Nearly half of the girls had worked or had been working with
an agreed amount of INR 30,000/- for a period of 3 years.
Sumangali thittam: Working conditions
The
implementation of Sumangali Scheme in the textile industry has brought about so
many changes in the style of its functioning. The working condition in the
previous set up was meant for the adult workers, adhering to all legal
procedures and conducive for increased productivity in the mill. The present
context of the textile factory is implemented violating all Labour Welfare
legislations and taking no measures towards safety, protection and security for
workers. Since, the workers of Sumangali scheme worker is a child, not a member
of any trade union hence there are no strikes or lockouts in the factory and
factory keeps functioning as no complaint is raised against any violation of
law or human rights or labour rights. "With
girls, it is easy to keep discipline", says factory management, they would
be less inclined to form unions than boys. By restricting the movement of
workers, the company effectively prevents the girls from reaching trade unions.
"Boys would never keep to that rule, they want to go on the streets,always
wanting more freedom. Girls are simply happy with what you give them"
explains factory management.5
Wages: A considerable amount is deducted from the workers' wages to pay
for food and to save for
the dowry6. A large number of girls under the scheme had worked or had
been working with an
agreed amount
of Rs. 30,000/- after an agreement period of three years. The lump sum amount
had
been revised
year after year and about 4% of them were working for Rs. 50,000/- to be given
after the agreement period of 3 years.7
Forced to work: In the AHRF study all children stated that they were
forced to work. This is against the Forced Labour (ILO Convention) Act. The
force reasons also are compulsions of the poor and marginalised families who
have huge debts to pay off or are a large family to be able to survive on the
meagre and erratic income of the adult members.
Abuse and violence: Majority reported on verbal abuse, shouting and verbal
lashing by the
employers. Due
to overwork and lack of sleep the workers become exhausted. There have been
many complaints
of poor food quality. In March 2009, 24 girls working at the Sathyamangalam
unit
were admitted
to the hospital for food poisoning. Three girls later died.8 Most of these girls end up
working for
long hours mostly around 12-14 hours a day. The time for lunch and dinner
breaks is very short, mostly around 20-30 minutes and this being the only break
which the girls get in the 12 hours shift. There is no break for rest during
the day.
Health Hazards: Due to the harsh working and living conditions some of the
workers don't make the three-year mark and leave the factory earlier due to
health reasons. Lack of sleep and overwork lead to exhaustion of the young
girls. In some cases the girls do not receive the money they have built up so
far because they are forced to leave the work before the stipulated period.
Because the workers don't receive an employment contract only an appointment
letter - it is difficult to check, what exactly has been promised to them and
to undertake action. According to the AHRF study, 61% of the girls had a
stressful living environment thereby experiencing a psychological tension
during their period of employment in textile industries. Further, 10% of the
girl labourers had skin problems. More than 1/3rd of the girls had gynaecological issues and most were anaemic.
Food and Accommodation: The girls have migrated for work and are housed in
dormitories located on the factory complex. Majority stay in the dormitories.
Only a small percentage work in day shifts and return to their homes. According
to the AHRF and the ECJ study, the Hostels are usually cramped and have poor
ventilation and have poor hygiene. Each dormitory is shared by an average of 12-15
girls at a time and is reused by different girls after each shift. The walls of
these factories are barricaded and it is impossible for anybody without
permission to enter or exit this walled complex and 5 Trapped in
Chains: Exploitative working conditions in European fashion retailers' supply
chain (European Coalition for Corporate Justice: 2010) 6 Ibid 6
7 A Study to understand the situation of Arunthatiyar girls
employed under the Sumangali Thittam Scheme in Coimbatore, Dindigul, Erode,
Tirupur, and Viruthunagar Districts-Tamil Nadu (AHRF: 2009)
8 Tamil newspaper Kalai Kathir, reported on one of the
deaths, Erode edition, 19 March, 2009
leave is
restricted to a few days a year when the girls are allowed to visit their
families. Workers are
thus severely
restricted in their freedom of movement.
TPF(Tiruppur peoples forum)
It is collective network fighting
for labours rights ,enviralmental rights and sumangali thittam issue
READ’s role:
READ is a
committed grass roots organization in Sathyamangalam, Erode district, Tamil
Nadu. It
focuses on the
development of vulnerable children from Arundhathiyar community. The office is
located in
Satyamangalam, Erode District, Tamil Nadu. Currently READ is working in 75
villages of
Satyamangalam
Taluk with children of Arunthatiyars. It is a member of Arunthatiyar Human
Right
Forum (AHRF)
Tamil Nadu State level Advocacy Network. It participated in the 2009 study on
Sumangali
thittam mentioned in this concept note.
Core Interventions:
· Prevent Arundhatiyar children in districts in Western Tamilnadu
from entering bonded labour,
from being
trafficked for labour, protect child workers from sexual violence and prevent
children from
being forced into child marriages.
· Rescue children who are already in bonded labour or working in the
textile industry, or are
being abused
and discriminated within communities. Families and schools are protected, and
ensure the rate
of children losing pare care in Western Tamil Nadu reduces.
· Establish strong institutions, organisations or networks of
children and Arundhathiyar women
that will work
towards the protection of their rights and entitlements.
Key Activities
· Rescue of children from textile industry factories and farms.
· Providing psychosocial care for the children rescued.
· Establishing activity centres in villages and developing
supplementary education programmes
such as
vocational training or special coaching for children at risk.
· School dropouts and children who are rescued from bonded labour
are provided with intensive
coaching
support in the bridge school (interim school between being rescued and going
back into
mainstream
school) and enrolled back in to the mainstream schools after the coaching at
age
appropriate
level.
· Forming Child Rights Protection Committees at village level in
project locations to provide care,
protection and
rescue/rehabilitation of children at risk of being or forced into bonded labour
system or being
married at early ages.
· Empowering local self government (Panchayat leaders) to promote
community based caring
systems for the
children without parental care.
· Promoting and strengthening of Arundhathiyar women’s groups and
federating them at block,
district and
sub-regional level through facilitating capital formation amongst this
vulnerable group
and enhance
community ownership of the project
· Lobby and assist with local self govt. to create a community
caring system at the Panchayat level
to rehabilitate
orphaned or separated children
According to Mr. Karuppusamy Director, READ: “ the young
girls under Sumangali thittam are living a
tragic life, they need to be rescued and guaranteed the
right to education and lead a life free of
exploitation and abuse; the state must ensure their
rehabilitation and ban the practice of Sumangali
thittam. The right to education act should be effectively
implemented and monitored”.
Key Recommendations:
· The practice of Sumangali thittam and employment of children in
the scheme should be
immediately
banned.
· The child rights violations of girls under Sumangali thittam
should be explored through a fact
finding
committee.
· The employer exploiting children under this scheme should be
punished in accordance with
Criminal Law
and Prevention of Atrocities against SC/STs.
· The children aged below 14 years who are working as child labour
in the textile industries
should be
rescued and admitted in school as per the recently passed Right to Free and
Compulsory
Education for Children.
· The Government has to strictly implement the labour related laws
and rules of ILO convention
and UN child
rights convention.
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Jointly organized by READ& TPF
Special
guest invited:
Ms.Maliga
Paramasivam
Erode
corporation Mayer
Mr.SR.Selvam
Erode
district level panjayet president
Mr.PL.Sundaram
.MLA
Bhavanisagar
constituency
For
details contact:
Mr.
Karuppusamy
Director
(READ –rights education and development centre)
Sathyamangalam, Erode
Tamil Nadu
Address: 27/1
Muniyappar Street
Rangasamuthiram
Sathyamangalam
Pin
Code: 638402
Erode
District. Tamil Nadu,
Tele: 91-4295-224313
,Mobile: 91-9842090035
