Volume 15 | Issue 9
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Suppliers flouting labour laws, says NGO Oindrila Sarkar A textile workers' union has accused a major Indian clothingfirm with global contracts of violating labor laws at its Hosakote factory. Jayaram K.R, the Executive Committee member of The Garment and Textile Worker’s Union (GTWU) said it's the second time Arvind Lifestyle has been the subject of a complaint for abusing workers. In 2011, GTWU had registered a formal complaint with the Karnataka Labour Department concerning the company’s Ramnagar factory. It is India’s biggest licensed manufacturer of apparels for brands like Arrow, Gant, US Polo, Izod, Flying Machine, Lee, Wrangler and Tommy Hilfiger. Jayaram said that he heard about the situation from workers and then filed a complaint. GTWU claims that every rule in the book from Basic Minimum Wage, overtime dues and Interstate Migrant Worker’s Guidelines was being violated there. The Labour Department has still not taken any action
against Sanjay Lalbhai owned Hosakote unit. In the Ramnagar unit, people were being made to work 16 hours a day and the company had refused to provide food, tea or any sustenance. They had also failed to provide the stipulated bonuses. These activities along with keeping four labour contractors for one unit had to be discontinued in Ramanagara when GATWU and the Karnataka Labour Department intervened. This put Arvind under the scanner. Thereafter they were forced to reform. They now have unions as well. In August GTWU found out that the Hosekote unit was operating entirely with interstate migrant workers, breaching the Interstate Migrant Workmen Act 1979 and Payment of Wages Act 1936. Jayaram added: “Vandana enterprises (a sub contractor of Arvind) were contractors for the controversial Ramnagara unit when it was raided in 2011. The same company is now gunning for a contract for the Hoskote unit as well. The moment these people
Rajamma, a garment factory worker
are asked to stop production somewhere they try to restart it and they have found out a discreet manner of doing it and staying outside the radar of law enforcement.” He added: "Workers are not ready to approach the judiciary. There are hardly 30-40 cases in the Labour Court. None of the labourers in Arvind’s Hosekote unit speak a common language or understand kannada as they are migrant workers. This is the reason why they could not organize themselves properly and were being exploited. We are now going to take up the matter with the brands themselves and have contacted Arrow which has its office in USA. These companies take 70% of the profits and are responsible for whatever happens to our workers on the ground. They are answerable for any kind of oppression and flouting of laws. None of these billion dollar Ready Made Garment (RMG) companies who produce in India are doing any Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities here or diverting even a margin of their profits. The Government of Karnataka is responsible for all welfare measures and insurance.” Rajamma, who works for Texport Industry which is Walmart’s biggest manufacturer and supplier in Bangalore, said: ”We haven't gotten a single holiday this month, not even on a Sunday. We are not being paid for our overtime work either.” She also said, “Different factory agents charge differently for food, travel allowance and rent. I bring home 7000 rupees but 2000 rupees is deducted every month by agents.” Madeena Taj, Treasurer of the Garment Karmikara Mahila Munnade, (GKMM) said:"The minimum wage notification for 2015 is rupees 272 per day but factories have started deducting money from the basic pay for housing, rent, food and travel allowance. This is a violation of worker’s rights under Section 9A of the Factories Act.
Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd Bangalore Picture courtesy: Wikimapia Major departments including the Labour Department are hesitant to take up the matter with the suppliers.” Asiya, who works as a seamstress for Textport Industry, said: "Last Saturday when Karnataka had the Kalasa Banduri bandh we could not go for work and so we were not paid anything. The garments we make are sold for exorbitant rates and are internationally the best clothing brands but here we live below the poverty line.” There are around 2000 textile units in Bangalore and it accounts for about 30% of the country’s apparel export pegged at more than $10 billion. Walmart’s sourcing facilities in Bangalore maintain operations worth $1 billion, Tesco $900 million and Marks and Spencer 200 million. They employ approximately two million workers cyclically and seasonally in the industry. Their suppliers in Bangalore are Arvind Mills, Arvind Lifestyle, Gokuldas Exports, Gokuldas Images, Sai Exports, Texport Overseas, Texport Syndicate and Texport Industry. Each has atleast 30 units in Bangalore . Rathna GM from GMKM said:” The piece workers in these sub contracted factories are hit hardest. They have no insurance or provident fund or an ESI (Employee’s state insurance). The sub contractors ask them to return back to their villages in months. In a word, they are devoid of every social security. Narayani who works for Arvind said: "They are making 60 of us stitch 150 shirts and 120 pants per hour. If we cannot meet the target we are not allowed to go for lunch. If someone is ill and cannot come for two days they are
going to be fired in all probability.”. The Labour Department refused to comment on what exactly is stopping them from taking action against Arvind Lifestyle for the illegal Hosakote unit. According to the Asia Floor Wage Alliance 58p an hour is the minimum living wage whereas Arvind is paying 22p26p an hour. Narayani added,"If we do not lie during audits then we will face the wrath of the factory owners later.” The International Labour Organization (ILO) lays down standards to ensure fair labour practices in the exporting countries. Delivery standards have to be ensured so that suppliers do not violate the laws of the land for personal gain. But Arvind, Texport, Gokuldas and Sai refused to even acknowledge the presence of such activities inside premises of their factories. The Union Textile Ministry had formulated a major plan to invest rupees three billion in modernisation and expansion in the 11th five year Plan which has still not come to fruition. Given the rapid rise in food prices, collapse of Public Distribution System (PDS), the workers are still living in poverty. They complain about lack of savings and the fact that they also have debts to repay. Jayaram KR of GATWU which works with the Workers Rights Consortium said, ”They make clothes for the biggest brands and are sold in USA and Europe but here they are facing shocking violations of norms and supplier standards. They earn so little that with their entire month’s wages they cannot buy a single item they produce.”
Thursday, October 1, 2015 2
THE OBSERVER
Bengaluru trafficking capital of India, says NGO Mouli Shree Despite measures taken by NGOs and the government child trafficking in the city is on the rise. Of the 391 trafficking victims rescued so far in 2015, 83 were underage – 56 boys and 27 girls. The remaining 286 of the rescued victims were girls above 18 years of age and the rest were boys. Up to August 2015, 92 cases of human trafficking have been recorded, a hike from 2013 when the figure was 74 and 2014 when 18 were recorded, according to data provided by City Crime Record Bureau. “Sexual slavery is increasing because of the expanding population of the city. Bangalore has become the capital of human trafficking” said a spokesperson for the Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU). Brinda Adige, a representative of Global Concerns India, an NGO, works in Academy of Gandhian studies which aims to combat
Brinda Adige Picture by: Parvathi Benu child trafficking. She said, “Earlier there was a lot going on in the commercial sexual and flesh trade but after Operation Smile, a campaign to rescue children begging on the streets, a direct link can be seen where the children are forced to traffic and to beg. “The rise in the number of male children is because these children come from small towns and are forced to work in order to earn their livelihood. Even though several NGOs are joining hands with the police under the Juvenile Justice Act, the rise in the
numbers every year is very evident.” M.Venngopala, Assistant Commissioner of Police (crime) said,”Operation Muskaan, a one month campaign from July 1 to July 31, 2015 traced 114 cases including cases filed in the past years.” Bachpan Bachao Andolan started in 1980 by Nobel Laureate Sri Kailash Satyarthi. It is focused on ending bonded labour, child labour and human trafficking, as well as demanding the right to education for all children. Lakshapati, Executive Director, Bachpan Bachao Andolan said, “Migration, petty stealing, picking up mobile phones for quick money are some of the reasons for increasing cases of child trafficking in Bangalore. We get around five such cases in our NGO every day.” “The police help us under the Juvenile Justice Act. There are adolescent girls who come from Raichur and Chitradurga, drought prone
A beggar child in the streets of Bangalore Picture by: Oindrila Sarkar districts in Karnataka. They also have suicidal tendencies and are sent to National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS)”, Lakshapati added. Raju, 15, said “Previously I used to steal money and beg and then Iwas brought by police to Bachpan Bachao Andolan. My father works as a daily wage labourer and we belong to a very poor family.” Leelaraju Chitti, a lawyer, said, “The increase in the number of male victims is because they are easy to lure from the villages and involve a good sum of money. I have seen many young boys in traffic signals and in many hotels, many of them
are involved in many criminal activities” According to CCRB data, Cubbon Park Police Station has registered the highest number of cases in human trafficking. Balakrishna C, Police Inspector, refused to comment on this. A spokesman for Child Protection and Child Rights, an NGO, said “Majority of the trafficking is within the country but a large number of victims are also trafficked from Nepal and Bangladesh. Approximately six lakh to eight lakh victims are trafficked across international borders annually. More than half of these victims worldwide are children.”
City of lakes leads India in Dengue cases Laxmi Narayani Dengue cases recorded in Bangalore city so far this year could soon equal the total number of recorded cases in the entire state for the same period last year. As of September 30, 2015, 1,249 dengue cases have been reported in the city which is more than three times that of last year. Despite the rise, there has been only one recorded death. In 2014, Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department reported 1,766 dengue cases for the same period in the state. Around 50 percent of the people who had been suspected and tested for Dengue showed positive results. Karnataka has recorded more dengue cases than any other state in India this year. Health Medical Information, a research study on dengue, suggests that fever can be caused by any one of the four types: DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4. One can get dengue virus in-
fections from the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. Some symptoms of this disease are high fever, severe head ache, joint and muscle pain and rashes. A patient cannot be affected with the same type of dengue more than once during his lifetime. Shyam, father of a 15-yearold gir,l Adithi Dravida, a dengue patient at Kethams Hospital, said, “My daughter was in need of B+ve platelets but now she is under treatment. ” A seven- year-old boy and a pregnant woman have been admitted in Chinmaya Mission Hospital for dengue treatment. The Victoria Hospital statistics shows that they admit 50 patients on average per month for dengue cases. The city has had 165 cases in the month of September. Manorajana Hegde, BBMP south zone Health officer said, “The reports for the tested people come in a day and it is easy to treat patients at the earliest. The data for male, female and children are not available with us.
We get information from the labs and we make sure that the patients are treated. One mechanical sprayer is used for two to three wards in preventing it further.” Dr.Siddappaji, BBMP east zone Health Officer said that the type 2 Dengue is more recurring among the patients. “Around 70 cases had been reported here and most prevailing is Type 2 Dengue. In our health centre we have Dengue kits for deducting such disease in the patient. Then, according to the result, the patients may opt for government or private hospital”, he said. Viral fever also has similar symptoms, which could be
mistaken as dengue. “As of now, no death cases in our area and for preventive measures the engineering department has been taking measures for cleaning up the wastage. In most cases, people get confused with viral symptoms with dengue and get panic. The government hospitals like Victoria hospital and Lady Willington Centre have their beds full with dengue patients”, he added. Costs for the treatment should be consistent in all the hospitals. “Government has ordered all the hospitals to charge as per the rates set for dengue patients, in case of
treatment and tests. It may costs Rs.5000 in some cases in the private hospital for verifying and treatment. During the treatment, patients require more platelets and hence there is huge demand now. If the patient is affected for the first time, it might not be that serious, but during the second time it is even more dangerous. There is going to be a meeting in the department for doing research work in these cases.” he concluded. The Chief Health Officer refused to comment on the issue.
Thursday, October 1, 2015 3
THE OBSERVER
Coca Cola plant soaks up Kaveri water as nearby villages struggle Maqsood Ahmed Maniyar
The Coca Cola factory in Bidadi uses half a million litres of Kaveri River water every day while villages around the plant rely on sporadic borewell water supplies. Meena, 42, who sells soft drinks and mineral water - including Coke - in her shop in Jogaradoddi village said: “The Coca Cola factory gets Kaveri water but we get borewell water. There is only one water tank for the village. The power cuts have made things worse. "We have electricity from 7 to 8:30 in the morning. This is the time where we have to run our motors and fill our tanks. She also said that Grama Sabha member Basavraj and former panchayat leader Ramakrishna had tried to address the
water problems.she added “Last Yugadi (a festival) the borewell was busted and these leaders did everything in their power to set things right. It has been ages since we first demanded Kaveri water for the village but to no avail.” People like Swati are faced with the situation where they don’t have running water at home. She has to walk across the street to get water for domestic use from a tap but for drinking water she has to travel farther. Yet her husband works as a painter in the Coca Cola Factory. Aziz, a migrant worker from Orissa, said that the water supply in the village was really irregular. Suresh, a resident of the village, claimed that lab tests had revealed little stone like particles in their drinking water. Haneef, who runs a
Haneef who runs a hotel near jogaradoddi village
hotel in the area, said, “There are water problems in the area but the abundance of Panchayat installed water taps helps”. Retired deputy chief engineer of BWSSB (Bangalore Water Supply and Sewarage Board)Guru Prasad Srinath, said: “BWSSB provided the Kaveri water to the Coca Cola plant under pressure from KIADB (Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board). Well, when the state government wants to approve something it gets approved.” Akshansh Ankit, a lawyer, said: “Under UN convention of 2010 water was recognized as a human right by the UN general assembly. Moreover, as per article 51 of constitution, it is mandatory for the government to honour international agreements that they have ratified. Of course it must be determined that there is nothing in Indian law that will stop you from keeping your promises to the international community. In this particular case, an Indian citizen can even file a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) challenging the actions of the Coca Cola company and the government.” Kaveri River water has been the bone of contention between no less than three states and one union territory especially Karnataka and Tamilnadu.In 1991, anti Tamil riots erupted in Bangalore over the dispute. Eventually the Kaveri River water tribunal gave an award in February 2007 distrib-
Coca Cola company’s board at Bidadi uting the river among the concerned parties. This was contested bitterly by everyone involved. In September 2012, the then Chief Minister of Karnataka Jagadish Shettar, refused to release Kaveri water to Tamil Nadu, citing a failed monsoon. When he did release water under Supreme Court order the decision was met with violence. The two states are yet to agree upon a water sharing formula. In May 2013, a supervisory committee was set up in order to implement the ‘Kaveri River Water Tribunal award’. Constitution of Kaveri Management Board is still pending. Nearly 3.75 litres of water goes into making one litre of Coca Cola and a substantial amount of waste water is also produced. A Coca Cola ‘mega plant’ like the one in Bidadi draws an estimated 510,000 litres everyday. However Coca Cola India’s sustainability report tries to downplay the figures. They claim they consumed only
8,104,483.4 kilolitres of water for all of India in the year 2013, well water making up for 63% of the total figure. They also claimed that they discharged 28,50,468 Kilolitres of water in the same time period.However Ramangaram taluk with a population of over 1,082,000 (according to 2011 census) consumes a paltry amount of water compared to the aerated drink plant. In the same report the soft drink company boasts about their ‘water stewardship’ claiming they will give back as much water as they take by 2020. They also emphasize their efforts to rejuvenate the Nalliguda artificial water tank in Bidadi. But when the Observer approached the Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Private Limited factory in Bidadi, the HR manager, Ms. Hiranya Sri Krishnappa, refused to take questions and said that prior permission was necessary in order to visit the factory.
Police, fire services mull drone technology Akshaya NA The city's police and fire departments are in talks with suppliers to buy drones. The emergency services believe the use of drones can help in crime detection and also fight forest fires in rural areas. Menestys Systech Solutions, a city based private firm which
Lokesh Sadashivan
develops drones, was hired by the Banaswadi police station in September.Theyused a droneto locate the body of an eight-year-old boy, Abas Ali Baig, one of three children thrown into a manhole by their uncle. “The Menetys Quadcoptor, the drone which was deployed in this particular case, used ultrasonic waves and thermal imaging to detect the body. The temperature of the corpse was lower than that of the water. However, the bacteria in the decomposing body altered the temperature, making it easier for the police to detect,” said Lokesh Sadhasivan, head of Business Development, Menestys Systech. “Menestys Firecoptor, another drone which can extinguish 2000 sq ft of fire, carries extinguishing chemicals. These are flown to the area and dropped at the precise location, taming the fire”. He added that the company
Quadcopter, the drone used to investigate the triple murder case has entered into talks with the Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services. “We wanted to get an aerial view of the drain, to find whether abody was floating. The camera, with its convenient size and high definition image quality, made the job easier,” saidMirza Ali, the police officer in charge of the operation to recover the young murder victim's body.
He added, “We are looking for companies to sponsor drones as government takes a lot of time to implement things. Once we own the device, it would take just two days to train our staff, then we will be self reliant.” Drone technology was first usedin Karnataka during the New Year celebrations in 2012, according to Ali, when it was sent into the air to monitor
crowd safety. “Last month, a demonstration of the device was conducted at the Fire Department’s head office. We are considering the feasibility of using these flying devices," said D. H Hamppagol, Deputy Director of Technology, Karnataka State Fire & Safety Department.
4 THE OBSERVER
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Minister pledges probe over HIV expenses funding Parvathi Benu A government scheme to fund transport to and from hospital for HIV patients is not paying out, according to the Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society. The Government of Karnataka announced in July 2012 that HIV patients who are receiving antiretroviral therapy should have their travelling expenses reimbursed. The amount is supposed to be given to them by the medical officer at the ART centre, once a month. “Since April 2015, we haven’t received the funds from the state government. As a result, the poor patients are affected,” said Dr Sunil Kumar, Regional Coordinator, Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society. Fr Peter D’Souza, Director of the Sumanahalli centre for leprosy/HIV rehabilitation, said ,“The inmates here haven’t received the funds for more than a year. We don’t know if the authorities have them.” Sunita, 30, (name changed), a resident at Sumanahalli, was diagnosed HIV positive 10 years ago. She undergoes ART at Victoria Hospital. “Travel allowance was introduced way back, but it has been a long time since any others or I have received it. Therefore, one among us would go to the ART centre and get the required medicine for the others too,” she said. “We have not received funding for the past six months. Also, there were delays in-between,” said Dr Uma, Medical Officer, ART Centre, St John’s Medical Col-
RTO officers ignorant about touts taking bribe Irien Joseph Bribery has become a growing business, inside and outside the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in Indiranagar. There are more than 10 complaints against agents who cheat people by charging extra money for driving license, vehicle insurance and registration of vehicles in the RTO complaint board, but no action has been taken. According to a customer, “the RTO office in Indiranagar is one of the most corrupt places in Bangalore. There are agents outside the office who take extra money from the people especially for drivers’ license. People who are new to the area are often victims of such traps. There are many agents outside the office, who accompany the customers.”
HIV patient at the Victoria Hospital ART Centre lege Hospital. Dr Satish, Medical Officer, Victoria Hospital, on the other hand, said that there is no shortage of funds. “We have been receiving the funds every month and it is distributed among the patients,” he said. However, a nurse at the Victoria Hospital ART centre said that the funds haven’t been received and employees are planning a protest . “We haven’t seen much of an increase in the number of patients because of this scheme. The amount was quite less. But at least the poor patients got something and now that too has been stopped,” she said.
According to the statistics by the KSAPS, there are 30,500 AIDS patients in the city, of which 13,760 have registered for ART across the seven ART centres. But in the Victoria Hospital ART centre, out of the 8199 patients registered for ART, only 5197 have started treatment. “No patient or NGO has complained that they have not received the allowance. In fact, I’m coming to know about the issue right now. I’ll make sure that necessary action will be taken,” said UT Khader, Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka.
The bribes range from Rs 1000 to Rs7500. Regardless of the increasing number of complaints, there are customers who give bribes to these touts in order to get their work done. Kumar, an agent outside the office, charges Rs 7500 from customers who come there for their driving license. When contacted, he said, “I can do things the way you want it. If you pay Rs7500, you will get your driving license without going through any procedures. Within 30 days, your license will be ready. And if you are paying Rs 5000, you will have to attend the test for learner’s license which takes two minutes, and not the whole procedure”. He added “I received 15 applications of drivers’ license,
Kumar, the agent who was taking bribes alone from Kerala and had got it done”. Another customer Sanil said, “I paid Kumar some amount to do the registration of my bike, which was actually registered in my cousin’s name”. The procedure of re-registration is done every 15 years, which undergoes repairing and painting. It needs to be attested by the RTO officer. According to the source, “Kumar did the registration without showing the bike to the RTO, even in the absence of the person on whose name the bike was registered, which is against the rules. He asked for some amount of money, and did the re-registration without following any of the procedures”. The First Division Assistant (RTO), Deepak Rao said, “I am not aware of anything like that”, and refused to comment more on it. Lokayukta SP Sonia Narang said, “If anyone gives a complaint regarding this, we would definitely act on that. Lodging a complaint right way will get our team on the spot”. She also added,” There were no complaints filed till now”.
‘We didn’t start medical colleges so that doctors go to foreign countries or treat rich people’ – state health minister Mathew Joy Mathew Young doctors trained via government subsidy are refusing to accept rural postings, despite a new law threatening heavy fines. Less than five percent of graduates last year accepted a
rural posting. The Government of Karnataka makes it a part of the contract with young doctors that they pay the state back by working in rural areas and helping the poor for one year. Most prefer to travel abroad to work. On July 24, 2015, Karnataka
Dr Abhishek Vijay Kumar and Dr Sunil Kumar of Bangalore Medical College
Government introduced the Bond Act which makes rural postings mandatory for all medical students in the state. 25 out of 814 MBBS students and 3 of 480 postgraduate students have opted for rural postings last year. A Fine of Rs5, 326 lakhs is yet to be collected from students opting out of rural service. The statistics collected from the Bond Enforcement Cell (BEC) Karnataka showed that there are fines still due from students from 2006-07 batch. Dr Abhishek Vijay Kumar, a student of Bangalore Medical College for the past 10 years, has never taken up rural postings and is filing a lawsuit against the Bond Act of 2015. “Government is forcibly set on
not employing us. This is unfair,” he said. Another student of Bangalore Medical College, Dr Sunil Kumar, said, “There is no security for hospitals even in urban
State Health Minister U.T Khader
areas and it is even worse in rural postings. No authority bothers about the students in an incident of assault. I am ready to go as employee not as trainee,” he added. Earlier this year Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, J.P Nadda, admitted that India had a shortage of 7.5 lakh doctors. “There is a lot of shortage in rural area. We didn’t start medical colleges so that doctors go to foreign countries or treat rich people. To be a good doctor one should do rural postings. We can’t say no to the Act as there is a Rs. 200300 crore burden,” said U.T Khader, State Minister of Health and Family Welfare.
THE OBSERVER Editor: Maqsood Ahmed Maniyar | News Editor: Mouli Shree | Chief Sub-Editor: Aparajita Khandelwal Picture Editor: Parvathi Benu | Sub-Editors: Oindrila Sarkar, Laxmi Narayani, Akshaya NA Social Media Manager: Irien Joseph | Reporter: Ankita Sil | Design and Layout: Mathew Joy Mathew and Aditi Mallick