Swacch Bharat? Urinals don't exist in 30% Surat textile units, where 92% workers aren't paid minimum wages: Study

Powerloom units in Surat

Counterview Desk
A new study on the working conditions textile units of Surat in South Gujarat -- powerloom, processing, embroidery, garment units, and composite mills -- has revealed that 82 per cent workers do not receive any payslip on receiving their salary, hence they have no written proof from the managements whether they receive the amount they are be legally entitled to get.
Carried out by the Vadodara-based People's Training and Research Centre (PTRC), which works on occupational health issues across Gujarat, the study has also found that in 92 per cent of cases "minimum wages are not paid". Said PTRC's Jagdish Patel, author the study, "Most workers did not know what should be their minimum wages. Hence, we had to ascertain how much they were paid to find out whether they earned the minimum wages they were entitled to."
Presented at a workshop in Ahmedabad, the study, involving 50 textile units, revealed that 72 per cent workers did not get any bonus, and 56 per cent workers were made to work on weekly holidays, though they were "not paid any extra wages for this." Significantly, most of the workers are migrants from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.
The study is based on direct interview with 50 textile workers and interaction with other stake holders -- managements, industry and workers' associations, as also academics studying their conditions. "About 36 per cent of workers were employed through contractors", the study said, adding, "While only 12 per cent of the workers enjoyed permanent status, 70 per cent were temporary."

Inside a unit

The study further said that if 82 per cent of the workers were not given any identity card, none of the workers working in the powerloom units had any of it. About 20 per cent workers knew about provident fund (PF), but just 10 per cent were made part of' it. Worse, Dearness Allowance was not linked with wages. And on an average 74 per cent had to work for 12 hours a day, but they were not paid any overtime after eight hours' work.
According to the study, while 64 per cent workers said that they received immediate treatment in case of a medical emergency, only 10 per cent were found to be taking advantage of the Government of India's Employees' Insurance Scheme (ESI) hospitals, in which all industrial workers are supposed to get free medical treatment. This is because most of the units are not registered with ESI. There are four ESI hospitals in Surat.
According to the study, while noise pollution is a major occupational hazard in all textile units, with 68 per cent workers complained about it, 50 per cent workers said they may catch an occupational disease, including those related with skin, noise and respiration. "While eight per cent workers said they had caught an occupational disease, 10 per cent added their colleagues were suffering from it", the study said.
The study further found that while 55 per cent workers said that they were not offered cold water during summer, 12 per cent said there was no facility of drinking water in their units. Also, 10 per cent workers said there were no toilets in their units, 30 per cent said, there was no urinals. "Worse, while 39 of the 50 units, we were told, employed female workers, 23 units had separate toilets for them, while 11 units did not give any reply on this", Patel said.

Comments

Uma said…

What a shame!

March 26, 2018

Urvashi Devi said…

The textile mills should be responsible

March 27, 2018

India performs 'poorly' in Quality of Life Index, ranks 62nd out of 64 countries

Counterview Desk “Expat Insider”, which claims to be one of the world’s most extensive surveys about living and working abroad, in a survey of 20,259 participants from around the globe, has found that of the 64 destinations around the globe, has found that while Taiwan is the best destination for persons living outside their native country, closely by Vietnam and Portugal, India ranks 59th.

India's GDP down by 50%, not 23%, job loss 200 million not 122 million: Top economist

By Our Representative One of India’s topmost economists has estimated that India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decline was around 50%, and not 23%, as claimed by the Government of India’s top data body, National Statistical Organization (NSO). Prof Arun Kumar, who is Malcolm S Adiseshiah chair professor, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi, said this was delivering a web policy speech, organised by the Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI), New Delhi.

Youngest of 16 activists jailed for sedition, Mahesh Raut 'fought' mining on tribal land

By Surabhi Agarwal, Sandeep Pandey* A compassionate human being, always popular among his friends and colleagues because of his friendly nature and human sensitivity, 33-year-old Mahesh Raut, champion of the democratic rights of the marginalised Adivasi people of Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, has been in prison for over two years now.

Human development index: India performs worse than G-20 developing countries

By Rajiv Shah A new book, “Sustainable Development in India: A Comparison with the G-20”, authored by Dr Keshab Chandra Mandal, has regretted that though India’s GDP has doubled over the last one decade, its human development indicators are worse than not just developed countries of the Group of 20 countries but also developing countries who its members.

#StandWithStan: It's about Constitution, democracy and freedom of expression

By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ* It is more than three weeks now: On the night of October 8, 2020, the 83-year-old Jesuit Fr Stan Swamy was taken into custody by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) from his residence in Ranchi to an undisclosed destination. According to his colleagues, the NIA did not serve a warrant on Fr. Stan and that their behaviour was absolutely arrogant and rude.

Stan Swamy vs Arnab Goswami: Are activists fighting a losing battle? Whither justice?

By Fr Sunil Macwan SJ* It is time one raised pertinent questions over the courts denying bail to Fr Stan Swamy, who was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and granting it to Arnab Goswami, editor-in-chief of the Republic TV, arrested under the charge of abetting suicide of Avay Naik, who ended his life in 2018. It is travesty of justice that a human rights activist is not only denied bail but is also made to wait for weeks to hear a response to his legitimate request for a straw to drink water, while Arnab Goswami walks free.

India among heavily impacted by Covid-19, China 'notoriously' evading transparency

By NS Venkataraman* With the year 2020 inevitably ending in the next few weeks, the thought amongst the people all over the world is whether the coming year 2021 will be free of Covid-19 (often dubbed as Wuhan virus, as it known to have spread from Wuhan in China).In the early 2020, many people thought that Covid-19 would be a localized affair in China but later on, it proved to be a global pandemic.

Namaz in Mathura temple: Haridwar, Ayodhya monks seek Faisal Khan's release

By Our Representative As many as 23 members of the Hindu Voices for Peace (HVP), including the founder president of the well-known Haridwar-based Matri Sadan Ashram, Swami Shivananda Saraswati, and a one of its top monks, Brahmachari Aatmabodhanand, have expressed their “dismay” over the arrest of Khudai Khidmatdar chief Faisal Khan and three others on charges of “promoting enmity between religions” and “defiling a place of worship” after they offered namaz in Mathura’s Nand Baba temple premises on October 29.

Buddhist shrines massively destroyed by Brahmanical rulers in "pre-Islamic" era: Historian DN Jha's survey

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Government of India 'refuses' to admit: 52% of bird species show declining trend

Finn's Weaver By Our Representative The Government of India has been pushing out “misleading” data on the country’s drastic wildlife decline, says a well-researched report, pointing towards how top ministers are hiding data on biodiversity losses, even as obfuscating its own data. It quotes “State of India’s Birds Report 2020” to note that of the 261 out of 867 bird species for which long-term trends could be determined, 52% have declined since the year 2000, with 22% declining strongly.

Search This Blog