In response to the persistent struggle of garment workers of Tamilnadu, the state government is proposing to revise the minimum wages for garment workers. The capitalists in this sector have intensified their attacks on workers to protect their profits. They are forcibly retrenching experienced workers. The Garments and Fashion Workers Union (GAFWU) is fighting back against these attacks.
Over 6,00,000 workers are reported to be working in the garments and apparel and related industries in Tamilnadu. Large number of them are women workers. These women workers are mostly recruited from the surrounding villages and brought to the work sites every day in vans. Harassment, demands for impossible targets, and an environment of violence against workers prevails in these garment factories. The workers, particularly women workers, are treated in an inhuman way. They are forced to work for very low wages and illegal deductions are made in their wages. The local owners and foreign brands and companies make huge profits.
The Minimum Wages Act stipulates that the minimum wages should be revised at least once every 5 years. These garment workers’ wages were last revised in 2014. For the last 10 years their minimum wages were not revised, under various excuses. With the result, the real wages of these workers have been going down year after year due to ever increasing prices of essential commodities.
Garment & Fashion Workers Union has taken up this issue many times with the Labour department, government authorities as well as in the Court. Finally the Supreme Court had to direct the Labour department authorities of Tamilnadu to revise the minimum wages immediately. As a result, the government of Tamilnadu had issued a draft order in November, that the increased wages should be finalized by January, 2024.
Capitalists of the garment industries are trying their best to avoid any revision of the minimum wages of the workers. Besides trying to convince the government authorities to not order any increase in wages, as well as trying to delay the process by various means, they are trying various ways to safeguard and increase their profits.
These garment companies are trying to terminate the services of experienced workers, particularly those of over 45 years of age, before the new minimum wages comes into effect. For one, many such workers are trade union activists who fight for the rights of the workers. Furthermore, these older workers would be eligible for higher salaries as well as other benefits, on account of the greater number of years they have worked. By throwing these experienced workers out of their jobs and replacing them with young workers, capitalists can enhance their profits.
The capitalist owners have succeeded in their plan to introduce a new grade of workers, namely Grade 3, whereas Grade 1 and 2 were existing till now in each level. They are planning to fix the salaries of the Grade 3 workers at about 10% less than the Grade 2 workers. It is being claimed that only the new workers joining the company will be taken in this newly introduced Grade 3 in low wages. However even the existing workers and experienced workers may be pushed into Grade 3.
Companies are now removing the experienced workers by pressurizing and threatening them to accept the so called ‘Voluntary Retirement Scheme’, by offering then one to three months’ salary. These announced VRS schemes do not follow any of the rules and regulations set for VRS schemes. They have been used to arbitrarily and illegally target the experienced workers and particularly the trade union activists.
In whichever company they have announced the VRS scheme, there have been no takers for this scheme amongst the workers. In such a situation, the companies are making a list of employees above 45 years old and are putting pressure on them by various means to sign the VRS forms immediately.
Garment & Fashion Workers Union is opposing these brutal attacks of the garment companies and demanding that the management stop these illegal terminations.
The owners of the garment companies adopted similar tactics in 2013, when the minimum wages were revised after 10 years. At that time in 2014, after the revised minimum wages came into effect, companies withdrew the transport services that were being provided to the workers free of charge till that time. Thereafter, workers were made to pay for the transport services. As a result, even the small incremental amount they were granted by way of revision of minimum wages was taken away in the name of transport charges.
A similar attempt is being made now by the owners of the garment factories under the guise of VRS.
By not revising the minimum wages regularly, even as prices keep rising, workers are being continuously robbed. Under the minimum wages act, there is no provision for claiming the arrears amount for the period in which minimum wages were not revised. Capitalists benefit by indefinitely postponing revising the minimum wages with the connivance of the authorities.
Garment workers have been holding meetings denouncing the attacks of the capitalists and they are determined to fight back these attacks.