Rukmini VP worked as a tailor in the garment industry for 23 years. Her time in the industry exposed her to the harsh realities of India’s apparel sector. In her workplaces, rules and regulations regarding employee protection were often ignored. Not meeting a quota meant facing wage deductions or even termination. In some cases, workers who failed to meet management’s production targets were forced to pay the difference out of their overtime pay. Supervisors, who were mostly men, often refused to make the legally-required accommodations for pregnant women and for workers with illnesses. The primarily female workforce was regularly subjected to verbal, sexual, and physical abuse from their supervisors.
At one factory, Rukmini and her fellow workers tried to organize a union with the support of Cividep India, a civil society organization that supports organizing workers in India. But when factory management discovered the organizing campaign they fired 11 workers in retaliation on the spot. Rukmini herself was suspended for six months. During that time, factory management tried to coerce her to sever her ties with Cividep India and renounce her stance on organizing the factory in order to return to her job. When she ultimately refused, she was fired.
“When harassment and torture didn’t work, [the management] tried to bribe me with a supervisory position. I refused to give in.”
The ordeal did not dampen Rukmini’s passion for labor rights. After a multi-faceted campaign that engaged her co-workers, local unions, international unions and civil society organizations, and apparel brands, she was re-hired to the factory and even given leave to be a full-time organizer while still receiving a salary.
At one factory, Rukmini and her fellow workers tried to organize a union with the support of Cividep India, a civil society organization that supports organizing workers in India. But when factory management discovered the organizing campaign they fired 11 workers in retaliation on the spot. Rukmini herself was suspended for six months. During that time, factory management tried to coerce her to sever her ties with Cividep India and renounce her stance on organizing the factory in order to return to her job. When she ultimately refused, she was fired.
“GLU is among the few labor unions founded by women and having only women as members. It’s also unaffiliated to any political party or trade union federation.”
Rukmini is now the President of GLU, which has about 1000 members, and where she serves with an all-women leadership board. GLU works with other trade unions, civil society organizations, and campaigns to improve workplaces and protect workers’ rights. They also advocate for stronger labor policies at the state level and support workers in litigation when necessary. Importantly, the organization’s work extends beyond the workplace. GLU assists workers and their families in obtaining access to subsidized healthcare and resolving domestic disputes. They also offer childcare, scholarships, and career training for workers’ children.
In all of their work, the Garment Labour Union has continued to put women at the center. They have performed street theater in front of garment factories and near workers’ homes about how to report and address gender-based violence and harassment. In meetings, Rukmini encourages men to sit in the back and women to sit in the front. Her reasoning? Women workers tend to defer to the few men in the room, who are eager to speak up despite their small numbers.
Rukmini still faces politically-motivated threats and obstacles to her organizing, particularly from men who feel their agendas are challenged by her work. Even apparently sympathetic employers, fearing production disruptions that could come with a unionization campaign, may act to prevent organizing at all costs – including harassing and firing workers.
No matter what, Rukmini refuses to cease organizing. Her most recent initiative to reach workers was starting her own community radio show. She hosts a regular program where she invites garment workers she knows through GLU to share their experiences working in factories and organizing for their rights. To date, she has produced over 80 episodes of the show, which highlights not just the frequent human rights abuses in garment factories but also the power of union organizing to overcome those injustices.
“When we try informing women about ourselves, politically affiliated men threaten us.”
*courtesy of Equal Times, viewable in full here.
photo credit to GLU; Ishan Khosla; and wagingnonviolence.com