Active Women of Munnade/GLU SAROJA, 38 years old, by GLU from Bangalore, India Saroja worked as a seamstress in the clothing sector for eight years. Their monthly salary at that time was 450 Indian rupees, which is the equivalent of about six euros. Yashoda and Saraswathi, their current colleagues at GLU (Garment Labour Union), worked as activists for Cividep India, a labour rights organisation that, among other things, organises training for workers in the garment sector. In 2002, Saroja was invited to workshops on the topics of statutory occupational health and safety insurance and was initially rather sceptical. “At first I hesitated to go to the workshop, but after attending once, I was very interested to learn more about my rights as a textile worker.” Saroja's interest became so great after the first training that she decided to become part of Cividep. In addition to the daily eight-hour work in the factory, Saroja helped out at Cividep on weekends and tried to organize more workers for the workshops. In 2004, she co-created Munnade, a textile workers' initiative funded by Cividep India until 2010. Munnade's focus is more on domestic violence, the water supply in the working-class districts, the use of ration cards, the education about pension insurance and other bonuses of the workers. From Munnade, the union GLU resulted, as all members understood that a union is necessary to organize the workers and to openly communicate their problems to the factory management. GLU advocates for the right to collective bargaining, educates workers about pension funds and statutory labour insurance, and supports the formation of labour committees. Cividep India, Munnade and GLU are still working closely together and supporting each other. Yashoda, 46 years old, by GLU from Bangalore, India From 1995 to 2002, Yashoda was a seamstress in a textile factory. Cividep India made the leap to social work when she first participated in one of the workshops for textile workers. Prior to her work as a seamstress, she was a teacher at the ‘Saksharatha Andolana School’ evening school in her home village. With this professional background, she was very suitable for working at Cividep and started as a field activist in 2002. Her tasks included organizing local meetings, dealing with workers' family problems, accompanying women to women's commissions and working with self-help groups. “I was happy to work as a field activist at Cividep because I was very interested in social work.” When the project with Cividep ended, Munnade was founded a short time later. Yashoda started GLU after working with Munnade. For them, trade unions play a major role in asserting workers' claims for damages, among other things, and in direct exchange with the Ministry of Labour. “It is easy and legal to fight for labour rights with trade unions.”In addition, membership in a trade union gives workers a sense of belonging. Saraswathi, 41 years old, by GLU from Bangalore, India Saraswathi worked for seven years as an assistant in a textile factory called ‘Garment International Factory’. Their monthly salary was 900 Indian rupees. When the factory was shut down, it received a severance payment, but lost its job. In 2010, at the same time as her colleague Yashoda, she started working as a field activist at Cividep India. She visited workers' quarters and invited workers to workshops. Until 2012 she participated in various projects of Cividep until she became treasurer of GLU. “Trade unions are important for putting labour rights on the political agenda, workers can bring about changes in politics not alone, but only collectively.” Rukmini, 40 years old, by GLU from Bangalore, India Seventeen years ago, Rukmini started working in a clothing factory. There were already many problems in the textile industry at that time. The workers were verbally harassed, insulted as dogs and humiliated in front of other workers. Other problems such as unpaid overtime, no entitlement to sick leave and no payout of bonuses were common. ‘I had no idea of my labour rights as a textile worker at the time. In 2003, I took part for the first time in a Cividep workshop to raise awareness of the (social) benefits that we are legally entitled to.’ The workshop had aroused Rukmini's interest and she now attended Cividep's meetings on weekends. She also told her colleagues about Cividep and encouraged them to participate in their workshops. After another year, ‘Garment Mahila Karmikara Munnade’, a social organisation of women garment workers, was founded and Rukmini was one of the organisation’s coordinators. In 2006, she was a representative of the Garment and Textile Workers Union (GATWU) and participated in a consultation meeting convened by all trade unions in the textile industry. Through media reports, her factory also learned of her position as General Secretary of GATWU and urged her to quit the union. Rukmini, however, referred to her right to be a member of a trade union. In the following days she was massively harassed, proclaimed by the microphone announcement as a lazy worker in the whole factory and asked every hour for a meeting in which she was accused of not reaching her workload. GATWU then protested at the gates of the factory, whereupon Rukmini had to move to another building and to a less qualified position. She was suspended for no reason in 2006. When she inquired about the reason for her suspension, she was told that she would receive a written statement by post, but this never happened. GATWU and other unions protested in front of the factory and also informed GAP, the company for which this factory was produced. The factory responded with an injunction that Rukmini should keep 200 meters away from the factory and not have any conversations with the workers. The request was not granted. Thereafter, a discussion took place between the factory management, GATWU and GAP. All parties agreed that Rukmini should continue to receive her salary as compensation, but that she would not have to go to work. In 2012, Rukimini left GATWU to form the Garment Labour Union (GLU). For them, it is important that trade unions exist and that workers are supported in addressing their rights openly before factory management. ‘If a textile worker without a school education knows about her rights as a worker, then he/she is also able to claim her rights. I am living proof of this.’ Rukmini attended a school for only three months in her life. back
