Gender-based violence at the workplace

Workshop with female workers on TTCU's Dindigule arrival — © FEMNET

Alliance initiative to extend the Dindigul Agreement: Working together against gender-based violence in the textile industry

The textile industry in India faces enormous structural challenges, especially when it comes to women's working conditions. Despite numerous legislative changes and promising programmes, working conditions for female workers remain problematic. Especially sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace and on the way to work are still commonplace. The Dindigul Agreement, whose extension FEMNET supports as part of an alliance initiative, wants to change this.

The Dindigul Agreement

The so-called Dindigul Agreement is a flagship project in the fight against gender-based violence. It was signed in 2022 by the Dalit Women's Trade Union TTCU (Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labor Union), supplier Eastman Exports, international companies and civil society organisations in the state of Tamil Nadu in India.

The agreement is an enforceable brand agreement (EBA) and consists of two interlocking contracts, both of which are legally binding. The first is between TTCU and supplier Eastman Exports: These two parties have contracted to end gender-based violence and harassment in all participating Eastman facilities in the Dindigul region - factories, dormitories, spinning mills, printing houses and training centers. The second is a contract between TTCU, the Asia Floorwage Alliance (AFWA) and the US-based NGO Global Labor Justice - International Labor Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF) on the one hand and the companies H&M, GAP and PVH on the other. This Agreement requires the undersigned companies to support and enforce the TTCU-Eastman Agreement and to impose business consequences on their supplier Eastman if they do not comply with it.

The Dindigul Agreement in brief:

Trade union rights and participation: The agreement strengthens the rights of trade unions and promotes their active participation in the design and implementation of labour standards in factories.
Establishment of complaint mechanisms: It establishes effective mechanisms for reporting cases of abuse and harassment in the workplace, modelled on the AFWA. Safe circles approaches, including the establishment of internal complaints committees (ICCs).
Regular training: The TTCU trade union will have access to the factory premises to train all managers, supervisors and workers on gender-based violence and harassment, as well as their rights and obligations under the Dindigul Agreement. Participation takes place during normal working hours with full payment.
Involvement of Dalit women: It is important to bring women from the lowest caste of Dalit, who are particularly affected by discrimination, into leadership positions and to offer them the same opportunities as women from other castes.
Brand engagement: The participating companies undertake to support the agreement and ensure that their suppliers comply with the agreed standards.

Alliance Initiative to Expand the Dindigul Agreement

FEMNET is involved in the extension of the Dindigul Agreement as part of an alliance initiative ‘Advancing Worker-Led Agreements on Gender Justice’ of the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles. Together with the project partners TTCU, AFWA, GLJ-ILRF and with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, we are working on extending the Dindigul Agreement to other companies and production sites.

Our goal is to end gender-based violence and harassment and combat discriminatory practices in other participating factories. With the aim of winning at least one, ideally two companies of the Textile Alliance for the signing of a similar agreement, we carry out the following:

Activities and measures

Mobilising other companies: We organize webinars and hold bilateral discussions with (textile alliance) companies to promote the importance of unhindered access for trade unions such as TTCU and the signing of binding agreements modelled on the Dindigul Agreement, and to convince companies to sign.
Setting up and signing another legally binding agreement: Together with the partner organisations, FEMNET is drafting a proto-agreement that adapts the principles of the Dindigul Agreement to the German and European context (such as the Supply Chain Act). This agreement is to be signed by at least one company of the Textile Alliance and the agreement is to be extended as a result.
Awareness raising and support: Through strategic meetings in India, webinars and other outreach activities, we are strengthening the awareness of NGOs, multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) and the general public of the Dindigul Agreement and the achievements it has so far made in combating gender-based violence in Indian textile factories.

At a glance

- Thematic area:

Combating gender-based violence in the workplace

- Country:

India

- Duration:

October 2023 – February 2025

- Partner organisations:

- Project promoters:

German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ)

- Project managers:

Project management
Luise Tegeler, FEMNET

- Downloads

Progress report: One year Dindigul Agreement (PDF)

Further information

The actors

The alliance initiative is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In the Alliance for Sustainable Textiles, business, civil society and the Federal Government are working together to make the conditions in textile supply chains more socially just and environmentally friendly. In addition to their individual activities and commitments, the members are involved in joint projects in the producing countries.