There is a definitive link between the excessive consumption demand from people (most, int terms of volume, coming from affluent citizenry) and the exploitation of labourers in several industries such as textiles and automobiles (cars etc).
Below are two recent news reportb by newsmagazine, Outlook, on the conditions for people employed in garment units in India:
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?285455
Floors Wet With Sweat
Labour is bought cheap, treated cheap—in India’s garment factories as at Bangladeshi ones
Even
as the world remains morbidly fixated on the tragedy in Rana Plaza on
the outskirts of Dhaka—the collapse of the textiles sweatshop three
weeks ago buried 1,127 workers and sparked off a global outrage—it is
business as usual at India’s textile hubs. And you don’t have to travel
far from the city centre to find that out. All you have to do is visit
an urban village in the heart of Delhi.
Mohammed Saddam Hussain and his co-worker Sanjay show up as usual in their one-room, windowless dyeing unit in Delhi’s Shahpur Jat. Their routine: dip yards of cloth into bubbling vats of chemical dye, morning to evening. Wait, there’s a snag. The LPG cylinder that fuels their water-heater has sprung a leak and the cramped room is filling up with flammable gas. Manoj, their employer, plugs the leak somehow and they resume work, immediately lighting the stove, unmindful of any risks.
Many such units, often catering to agents who supply to international orders, litter the crowded streets of Shahpur Jat. Here, incomes of garment unit owners have ballooned in recent years, thanks to high-paying sub-contracts. Their prosperity is apparent from the glitzy storefronts. “I came to work in Delhi 13 years ago, and was a worker then—it’s just fate that made me successful,” says Manoj, who owns many of the tailoring units in Shahpur Jat, which he runs under the brand name Rimjhim.
But the workers—the ones embroidering, finishing or stitching the merchandise—have remained underpaid, overworked and in the same cramped conditions. For western observers, the most prominent and visible symbol of an Indian “sweatshop” is child labour. Hussain says he’s 20, Sanjay says he’s 15, both past the 14-year age limit past which
children can work, though not in hazardous industries. Both refuse to talk about their wages.
“The textile sector in India is one of the worst offenders in terms of working conditions,” says C.K. Sajinarayan, national president, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, one of the country’s largest trade unions. “The smaller units have an especially serious problem. There, exploitation is rampant.” Bad working conditions include wages so low they can’t meet basic needs, long hours, forced unpaid work, punishment for not meeting targets, and lack of emergency exits, ventilation or lighting.
“The
term ‘sweatshop’ is slang, mostly used in the context of international
trade between developed and developing countries,” explains Dr Helen
Sekar, coordinator of the National Resource Centre on Child Labour with
the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute. “What we have to look at is
whether the laws are being followed or not—for instance, whether child
labour is illegally employed in a unit, or if safety requirements are
not being met,” she says. In India and Bangladesh, as they battle
neck-and-neck for expensive contracts to supply western retailers,
working conditions are getting worse. As textile units in both countries
vie to drive costs lower and lower, often companies find cruel or
unusual ways to stay competitive. “In Tamil Nadu, some textile units
make children work without pay until they reach marriageable age. Then
the employer pays a ‘dowry’, a pittance, instead of wages, and hires a
fresh batch of children,” Sajinarayan says.
The government, usually silent on children employed in textile units,
is working on the draft of a new, stronger legislation against child
labour. This law, it hopes, will encourage children to go to school
instead of work. The draft in December 2012 proposed a ban on hiring
children up to 14 years old in any industry, except where they help
their family after school. For a new category of “adolescent” workers,
the bill proposes a list of hazardous industries where the ban will be
absolute. If these changes come through, Mohan, of Shahpur Jat, Delhi,
will have to fire Sanjay, or face six months in jail and/or a penalty of
Rs 50,000.
During the slowdown, more than 5 lakh Indian textile workers lost their jobs in just the last six months of 2007. The average wage of a textile worker in north India was $50-60 at the time. The same year, workers in Bangladesh rioted over low payments, which were $45 on average. Wages have since been revised in India, but the industry remains in the throes of intermittent mass sackings. Earlier, workers could switch jobs to escape bad work environments, but that option is now limited. Even training, which in any other business opens up options and raises income, doesn’t always have the expected outcomes in the textile business. “Workers only ask us one thing when we tell them to train with us—‘Am I going to be upgraded after the training?’ All we can say is no, but you’ll learn something new even if your income doesn’t increase,” says B. Basu, who heads Sasmira, a training centre in Bhiwandi at which the government trains textile workers.
It isn’t just compliance, though, which leads to bad working conditions. Regulation in India is also notoriously complex, with the government stepping in only now, and cautiously, to smoothen norms. “We are working with the government towards simplification and codification of laws related to textiles. There are over 100 regulations at present, of which 40 have been identified as the minimum statutory requirements,” says Sajinarayan. Textile units need to maintain 40 different records of returns and registers, which, the unions and government agree, must be narrowed to one or two.
The flip side, unions say, is that “simplification” should not be taken for hire-and-fire, which only makes the situation worse for workers. Dr Sekar points out that labour and industrial laws impose strict conditions with good reason—“in India the law is implemented, that’s why you don’t see large-scale tragic incidents like in Bangladesh,” she says. There are also social and legal compliances, unlike in Bangladesh where textiles owners often flout safety regulations.
But there’s obviously no need to get complacent. Smaller incidents, even factory fires and collapses, often go unnoticed, says Pratibha, vice-president of the Garment and Textile Workers Union. Worse, the Eurozone crisis has hampered Indian textile’s prospects. If things slow down further, those working in India’s garment sweatshops will sadly bear the brunt.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?285456
Indian Connections
Mohammed Saddam Hussain and his co-worker Sanjay show up as usual in their one-room, windowless dyeing unit in Delhi’s Shahpur Jat. Their routine: dip yards of cloth into bubbling vats of chemical dye, morning to evening. Wait, there’s a snag. The LPG cylinder that fuels their water-heater has sprung a leak and the cramped room is filling up with flammable gas. Manoj, their employer, plugs the leak somehow and they resume work, immediately lighting the stove, unmindful of any risks.
Many such units, often catering to agents who supply to international orders, litter the crowded streets of Shahpur Jat. Here, incomes of garment unit owners have ballooned in recent years, thanks to high-paying sub-contracts. Their prosperity is apparent from the glitzy storefronts. “I came to work in Delhi 13 years ago, and was a worker then—it’s just fate that made me successful,” says Manoj, who owns many of the tailoring units in Shahpur Jat, which he runs under the brand name Rimjhim.
But the workers—the ones embroidering, finishing or stitching the merchandise—have remained underpaid, overworked and in the same cramped conditions. For western observers, the most prominent and visible symbol of an Indian “sweatshop” is child labour. Hussain says he’s 20, Sanjay says he’s 15, both past the 14-year age limit past which
Jitender Gupta
Tied down A garment factory in Delhi business: labour
children can work, though not in hazardous industries. Both refuse to talk about their wages.
“The textile sector in India is one of the worst offenders in terms of working conditions,” says C.K. Sajinarayan, national president, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, one of the country’s largest trade unions. “The smaller units have an especially serious problem. There, exploitation is rampant.” Bad working conditions include wages so low they can’t meet basic needs, long hours, forced unpaid work, punishment for not meeting targets, and lack of emergency exits, ventilation or lighting.
|
During the slowdown, more than 5 lakh Indian textile workers lost their jobs in just the last six months of 2007. The average wage of a textile worker in north India was $50-60 at the time. The same year, workers in Bangladesh rioted over low payments, which were $45 on average. Wages have since been revised in India, but the industry remains in the throes of intermittent mass sackings. Earlier, workers could switch jobs to escape bad work environments, but that option is now limited. Even training, which in any other business opens up options and raises income, doesn’t always have the expected outcomes in the textile business. “Workers only ask us one thing when we tell them to train with us—‘Am I going to be upgraded after the training?’ All we can say is no, but you’ll learn something new even if your income doesn’t increase,” says B. Basu, who heads Sasmira, a training centre in Bhiwandi at which the government trains textile workers.
It isn’t just compliance, though, which leads to bad working conditions. Regulation in India is also notoriously complex, with the government stepping in only now, and cautiously, to smoothen norms. “We are working with the government towards simplification and codification of laws related to textiles. There are over 100 regulations at present, of which 40 have been identified as the minimum statutory requirements,” says Sajinarayan. Textile units need to maintain 40 different records of returns and registers, which, the unions and government agree, must be narrowed to one or two.
The flip side, unions say, is that “simplification” should not be taken for hire-and-fire, which only makes the situation worse for workers. Dr Sekar points out that labour and industrial laws impose strict conditions with good reason—“in India the law is implemented, that’s why you don’t see large-scale tragic incidents like in Bangladesh,” she says. There are also social and legal compliances, unlike in Bangladesh where textiles owners often flout safety regulations.
But there’s obviously no need to get complacent. Smaller incidents, even factory fires and collapses, often go unnoticed, says Pratibha, vice-president of the Garment and Textile Workers Union. Worse, the Eurozone crisis has hampered Indian textile’s prospects. If things slow down further, those working in India’s garment sweatshops will sadly bear the brunt.
***
The Telltale Signs- Low wages that aren't enough to meet basic needs
- Long working hours
- Forced labour
- No overtime wages
- Opposition to labour unions
- Children below 14 working, or pledged away for labour
- Dangerous working environment
- Lack of emergency exits
***
Keeping count- 80 million The number of workers employed by the textiles sector in India
- 4% Its contribution to the country’s GDP
- 40% of Indian textile industry’s turnover is from export, much of it to retailers abroad
- 5,00,000 Indian workers lost jobs in just the last six months of 2007
- 50-60% of Indian textiles units are in the small-scale sector
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?285456
Through The Smokescreen, This Side Up
Amidst the misery of Bangladeshi workers, strands that trail to India
Debarshi DasguptaIndian Connections
- Thousands rendered jobless in Bangladesh after Lilliput Kidswear fails to pay $4 million to factories
- Rana Plaza housed a unit, New Wave, that was outsourced work by an Indian supplier of Benetton
- Tung Hai Sweater Ltd, where a fire killed eight, produced garments for Indian buyers
- As imports from Bangladesh rise, Indian buyers are being asked to ensure they or their partners don’t abuse workers’ rights
- India imported $57.51 million worth of garments from Bangladesh between July 2012-March 2013
In a crisis precipitated by Lilliput, Jamal is one of several factory owners in Bangladesh whom the Indian firm owe around $5 million. Shahidullah Azim, vice-president of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told Outlook that as many as 22 factories have been affected by the non-payment of dues in the past two months, and around 30,000 had lost their jobs. It has become a bilateral issue too. Outlook made several unsuccessful attempts to speak with representatives from Lilliput. However, reports have quoted its founder Sanjeev Narula as saying that he hopes to clear his dues by mid-June.
The Lilliput affair may be just one of many worrying stories involving Indian garment buyers in Bangladesh. After the recent Rana Plaza building collapse, which killed 1,127, there is concern that Indian buyers, focused on cutting margins, could well be turning a blind eye to the many ills of the garment industry there. Even Rana Plaza, it now turns out, had at least one India connection. One of the establishments there—New Wave—had been outsourced a contract by an Indian supplier of Benetton. Chief executive Biagio Chiarolanza disclosed this in an interview to Huffington Post to address growing concerns after clothes with the firm’s label were found at the collapsed site.
AFP (From Outlook 27 May 2013)
Red rags A worker walks amid burnt clothes at the factory in Dhaka where a fire killed eight on May 8
Given these incidents, and probably more unreported ones, can Indian buyers be absolved of the charge of exploiting Bangladeshi labour? The big draw for them is low salaries—a third of average salaries in India. However, some like Gurvinder Singh, operations director of Rattha Overseas, Chennai, which works with 15 Bangladeshi factories to export clothes to the West, thinks of it as a “lot of manpower”. “If you set up a factory in India, you will not find workers,” he says, pointing to the lack of trained people.
Rashidul Alam ‘Raju’, general secretary of Bangladesh Independent Garment Workers Union Federation, thinks Indian buyers must engage renowned factories to ensure that they are not unwittingly a party to the abuse of workers’ rights. “One cannot just focus on profits, you have to do so on compliance too,” Rashidul says. With garment imports from Bangladesh growing at over 30 per cent, buyers here can hardly afford to have their fabrics dyed with blood.
No comments:
Post a Comment