A Glance Into The Lives Of Workers With Bite-Sized Stories From Factories, Homes & Communities
The Right Training: They thought they could be terminated any day. A two-day workshop on labour laws was enough for Bengaluru-based garment workers to drastically change their awareness levels about what is due to them. ‘We understood the rights provided by the Constitution (of India) and this changed our mind set,” said a worker. Frequent and unexplained factory shutdowns, layoffs, and non-payment of wages are regular features of garment factories in the city. Garment workers are often not informed about statutory entitlements such as job contracts, Provident Fund, and health insurance. Cividep’s awareness programs (as pictured in the image above) hope to plug this critical knowledge gap among these low-wage workers, who are mostly unaware about basic entitlements.
Making Time for Leisure: A recent study circle discussion among electronics factory workers at Cividep’s Worker Resource Center in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, had a novel agenda. They were simply asked to spend time at leisure! This was to mark the history of International Workers’ Day or May Day, and the labour movement’s successful demand for 8-hour work days. Some of the women made tea and snacks, while others wrote poems celebrating their love for their children, or sketched whatever came to their mind. They left behind neatly done drawings and heartfelt verses showing that making time for themselves can be quite enriching.
Digital Red Tape: It isn’t enough to raise awareness about social security measures such as Provident Fund (PF) and Employee State Insurance. The barriers are too many – lack of internet access, complex online registrations and dysfunctional websites. During a recent discussion with shoe factory workers in Ambur, Tamil Nadu, many shared yet another PF grievance. The pay slips issued by their factories had old and invalid registration numbers. The Cividep team assisted these workers to get valid PF registration numbers, and apply online for advances from their accounts.
Perils of Skipping Rest: Time and motion study by industrial engineers do not consider rest time and toilet breaks, said workers in the course of a Cividep study on healthcare access pathways and social protection. They told researchers how undue pressure to meet high hourly targets led them to skip essential toilet and water breaks. Early indicators from these interviews point to a linkage between reproductive health issues and the work environment. “Workers seem prone to hernia and chest pain,” said a researcher. Cividep’s ongoing health research in the garment sector, supported by STITCH, aims to understand the social and economic determinants of health within the institutions of work, households, and markets to help enhance opportunities to health equity. (In pic: Workers take part in Cividep’s research)
Work That Hurts: A recent incident at a shoe factory in Ambur, Tamil Nadu, is a classic example of the rigid working conditions, and lack of grievance redressal mechanisms for workers. A worker, who was suffering from dysentery during work hours, wasn’t allowed to take leave. The helpless worker then informed his father and brother, and asked them to pick him up from the factory. Finally, he was allowed to leave after family members requested the supervisor. However, his travails didn’t end there. The next day, the miffed supervisor forced him to take 10 days of leave without pay.
Images: Pramod Kumar, Nandhini K
Text: Gokulavasan, Pramod Kumar, Kaveri M T, Gokhularaj R