Dear Friends,

18 March 2004,
Please find below a request from the CCC Task Force - Tamil Nadu to participate in their campaign to push for improvements in the textile mills in Vedasanthur, India. Throughout the sector they report that there are violations of workers rights, including low wages and long working hours, intimidation and unjust dismissals, and the use of child labor. The task force, made up of 30 NGOs and seven trade unions working on labor rights issues in the region has requested that people write letters of concern to several public authorities to push for improvements. A sample letter is provided below. We encourage you to take a few minutes to send a letter today. Please contact the CCC Tamil Nadu Task Force (e-mail: savelrc@vsnl.net) with any questions on this appeal for action.

TAMIL NADU TASK FORCE CALLS FOR CHANGES IN VEDASANTHUR TEXILE INDUSTRY

Textile workers in Vedasanthur block of Dindigul district, located in Tamil Nadu are enduring numerous rights violations, according to reports from the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) Task Force – Tamil Nadu. In response, the task force is calling for action, targeting public authorities in the district to take steps to ensure that workers’ rights are respected.

BACKGROUND

While employers in the area are earning large profits with the export of yarn, the industry is characterized by the use of forced overtime, child labor, and the denial of fundamental union rights, reports the CCC Task Force – Tamil Nadu. Information on working conditions in Vedasanthur was gathered by local unions (CITU and others) and during interviews with workers organized by HOPE, a local NGO. Workers reported age-based discrimination. They said that experienced workers are forced to resign and have no option other than getting jobs at other textile mills at beginner’s wages.

Workers in Dindigul are regularly denied their right to free association. Of the 167 cotton mills in Dindigul, only 56 mills allow trade unions. One obstacle to worker organizing is the prohibition on trade unions conducting gate meetings in front of the mills. The unions view these meetings as important opportunities to strengthen workers’ solidarity and organizing efforts, as it is the only opportunity for workers who are drawn from scattered villages to meet together. Mill owners have obtained a stay from the Munsif Vedasanthur District Court to prevent workers from assembling in front of the mill gate for a radius of 300 meters.

Workers report that employers will dismiss them if they try to start trade unions or join any existing trade unions, and that they will be placed on a blacklist and unable to obtain work in the region. There have been several cases of workers being beaten up and dismissed for their organizing efforts.

An estimated 950 children are employed in the Dindigul cotton mills. In some of the area’s textile mills workers, including child workers, are beaten with sticks, either as punishment or to keep them working at a fast pace. Conditions are unsafe, with old machinery in use, fingers are often cut and sometimes amputated. Conditions are also unhealthy due to poor air quality –- the fine cotton dust in the air has negative effects on the respiratory system of the workers.

Textile workers are regularly denied benefits they are legally entitled to. For example, workers do not receive Employees State Insurance (ESI), Provident fund (a social security retirement system for which workers make contributions through wage deductions and employers are also required to make contributions), paid maternity leave, and other benefits. Workers who have worked for as long as three years are still categorized as temporary workers. Workers are paid below the legal minimum wage. Workers generally live in 300 square foot tiled houses, without toilet facilities, and are unable to maintain a nutritious diet on the wages they earn.

The CCC Task Force – Tamil Nadu is calling upon supporters to contact relevant state government officials to voice concern over violations of:

• minimum wage legislation,
• right to Employees State Insurance (ESI),
• right to provident fund,
• right to maternity benefits,
• health and safety standards in the workplace,
• freedom of association,
• and the use of child labor

in textile mills in Vedasanthur, in the Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu.

Please take a minute to send the sample letter below and e-mail officials in Tamil Nadu today to urge them to take action on these serious rights violations.

Your mail will be send to:

• Dr. J. Jayalalithaa - Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (cmcell@tn.gov.in and cmcell@tn.nic.in)
• Mr. M.B. Pranesh, I.A.S - Principal Secretary Labour & Employ. Dept (labsec@tn.gov.in)
• Mr. Senthil Kumar - The District Collector of the Dindigul District (collr@dindigul.tn.nic.in)
• Mr. Appukutti - President of the Dindigul Spinners Association,(dispa@rediffmail.com)

Copies are send to the CCC Task Force – Tamil Nadu (savelrc@vsnl.net) and the Clean Clothes Campaign

Dear sirs,

I would like to draw your attention to the critical situation of the workers of the cotton spinning mills in Vedasanthur, Dindigul, whose fundamental rights are regularly being violated. I call upon you to take action to see that steps are taken to improve conditions for workers in this sector.

I have been informed by the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) Task Force – Tamil Nadu that violations of workers’ rights in Dindigul include:

• forced overtime

• violation of minimum wage legislation

• failure to pay legal benefits, including Employees State Insurance, provident fund benefits, holiday pay, and maternity benefits

• violation of health and safety standards in the workplace

• violation of the right to freedom of association (of the 167 cotton mills in Dindigul, only 56 mills allow trade unions).

I understand that workers are regularly denied their right to free association. Specifically, trade unions have been prohibited from conducting gate meetings in front of the mills. Mill owners have obtained a stay from the Munsif Vedasanthur District Court to prevent workers from assembling in front of the mill gate for a radius of 300 meters. I urge you to take action to lift this court order and ensure that workers are able to exercise their right to free association.

I am also especially distressed to learn that an estimated 950 children are employed in the Dindigul cotton mills.

According to the CCC Task Force – Tamil Nadu, working conditions in these mills violate numerous laws, including:

• the Factories Act 1948

• The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976,

• The Trade Unions Act, 1926,

• The Minimum Wages Act, 1948,

• The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986

• The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947,

• the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961,

• The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970,

• The Industrial Employment Standing Order Act 1948,

• The Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous provisions Act, 1952, and the

• Payment of Bonus Act, 1965.

Regarding the denial of legal benefits, I request that you advise the appropriate authorities/departments to see that basic benefits (ESI, Provident Fund, maternity benefits, etc.) are paid to workers.

These children should be rehabilitated and provided education further their parents must be supported under poverty alleviation schemes.

There are numerous short-term and long-term actions that should be taken to improve the overall working conditions in the textile spinning mills in Dindigul district. I urge you to convene a meeting with the CCC Task Force – Tamil Nadu and relevant trade union and labor officials to develop a follow-up plan for addressing these problems. I believe that you have an important role to play in developing a systematic approach for investigating and following up on rights violations in textile facilities in Vedasanthur to ensure that good labor standards are met.

Thank you for your consideration and I hope that you will keep me informed of the steps you take to address these concerns.

Sincerely,

(your name)