Maid in India

Maid in India
Pressure on workers to stay on until the end of the contract period.
Non-payment of compensation if any part of the contract period is not adhered to, etc.
Despite the apparent difficulties in the ETI SBL group to achieve common understanding in July
2011 it was agreed within the ETI SBL group to hold a stakeholder event in the region to promote
shared understanding, local ownership and more coordinated action. ETI has hired a consultant to
prepare for this meeting.
On the basis of the consultant’s findings, ETI drafted ‘strategies for change’. ETI is calling upon
international brands to engage their first tier suppliers with a comprehensive set of labour
standards that includes hostels, and workers recruitment practices within and outside of Tamil
Nadu. According to ETI, a wider perspective than what audits can offer is needed. A strong case is
made for the repositioning of the issue, shifting the focus from the garment industry in Tirupur to
the textile industry in Tamil Nadu as a whole. Essential to this is capacity building of the second tier
suppliers regarding implementation of labour standards, especially those addressing bonded labour
and recruitment practice. ETI stresses that all stakeholders that are crucial for involving second tier
suppliers need to be brought to the table. The involvement of SIMA and the Tamil Nadu Spinning
Mill Association (TASMA), recruitment agents, government ministries and agencies and workers is
deemed to be of the utmost importance. Moreover, ETI stresses the need to involve domestic
buyers of yarn, as they represent nearly 50% of the total sales of the spinning industry.
The 28-29 March Tirupur Stakeholder meeting
On 28 and 29 March ETI and the Fair Labor Association organised a stakeholder meeting in
Tirupur. The stated aim of this meeting was to ‘develop a common understanding of prevailing
labour practices within the textile/garment sector in Tamil Nadu, including the issue of
Sumangali’. 52 ‘Key aims of the conference are to deliver a coordinated plan that ensure that the
young women that work in this industry do so in decent conditions that meet international
standards.’ 53
The Tirupur Stakeholder meeting did achieve some of its objectives, especially when it comes to
involvement of local stakeholders, but an action plan has not been drafted. The event was attended
by 265 attendants who represented suppliers, including mill owners and industry associations
(TEA, SIMA and TASMA), representatives from the Tamil Nadu government, local and international
NGOs, multi-stakeholder initiatives, brands/retailers, trade unions and workers.
Each stakeholder group presented its view on the employment of young women in the
garment/textile sector in Tamil Nadu. While opinions differed a lot, it may be seen as a
breakthrough that all stakeholders involved were prepared/there/able to listen to each other’s
perceptions on the problems and on their own roles and responsibilities. Furthermore, each
stakeholder group identified possible actions that can be developed and implemented within the
next year (if necessary in coordination with other stakeholders). Suppliers committed to not recruit
under the Sumangali Scheme anymore, brands to work on the informing potential workers of their
rights in the major recruitment areas. There was a broad consensus that the momentum of the
meeting should be continued in the form of a genuine multi-stakeholder initiative, involving industry
associations and mill owners as well, facilitated by a neutral body. In this regard GAP, in its
reaction to the draft report, states that ‘all parties agreed to establish a permanent multistakeholder
forum in the Tamil Nadu region to help address Sumangali practices and other work-
52
53
Ethical Trading Initiative, Invitation ETI Stakeholder Engagement in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, 28 & 29 March, 2012.
ETI, Supply Chain Children, http://www.ethicaltrade.org/news-and-events/news/supply-chain-children.
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