A recent report by the non-profit Workers Rights Consortium (WRC) sheds light on the shockingly crimes taking place at a Natchi Apparel factory in India entitles “Natchi Apparel (India): Findings, Recommendations and Corrective Actions” (https://www.workersrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/WRC -Assessment-of-Natchi-Apparel-05-22-22.pdf).
Labor organizations have signed binding agreements with Natchi owner Eastman Apparel and with H&M to combat gender-based violence and harassment at this factory. These agreements were reached after the WRC found numerous practices at the Natchi factory that violated Indian law, international labor standards, and / or vendor codes of conduct, regarding gender-based violence and harassment, other forms of abusive treatment, and interference with freedom of association. Specifically,
Jeyasre Kathiravel, a 20-year-old girl who was studying for a public service exam the night before she left home every morning to work in long shifts sewing clothes at her garment factory, on January 1, 2021, never returned home from the job.
Despite her family’s desperate efforts to find her, four days later her body was found by farmers just a few miles from her village. Authorities arrested V Thangadurai’s boss for her murder.
The terror of working women
The investigation by the Indian authorities revealed that the unfortunate 20-year-old girl often fell victim to sexual harassment by the accused but had not reported anything, fearing dismissal, as her colleague confessed. Apart from the fear, however, she also felt powerless because her – future – killer was acting with the knowledge of the factory managers.
The tragic end of the 20-year-old gave other women the strength to talk about their tormentors, thus raising the veil over the harsh reality in the factories that serve the needs of the fashion giants, who invest in “fast fashion”.
“Sexual harassment of women in the clothing industry is directly linked to their desperation to keep their jobs, at any cost,” said the President of the local Textile and Common Labor Union (TTCU). The Independent Consumer Rights Consortium (WRC) investigation results are shocking.
The vast majority of working women experience extreme behaviors
Interviews with 60 employees and the information gathered from them led to the conclusion that Jeyasre was not the only woman killed. Investigators say there are at least two other victims, with the crimes dating to 2019 and 2021.
The killings apparently took place inside the factory and the officials ordered the workers not to speak.
In addition to these crimes, the report states that physical and verbal sexual harassment and rape have been “pervasive” over the past decade. The perpetrators are often the bosses.
The workers told investigators that their male bosses intimidated and humiliated them in public because they had not achieved their production goals and that they were often verbally abused and sexually assaulted. The investigators also found that the factory management tolerated caste discrimination.
Complaints from working women in India indicate that they are witnessing rape, suicide and even murder. Workers do not have the power to say no to men in positions of power, whether they are bosses or managers. They can do whatever they want to any woman. They are all at their mercy and have no one to support them.
Workers in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka also spoke to AFWA investigators about similar conditions in their factories.
The company that owns the plant disputes the accuracy of “certain statements in the WRC report” and promises to take steps to “protect the rights of women workers”.
Binding agreements and provisions
Last month, pioneering and legally binding agreements were signed between Eastman Exports, TTCU and two international workers’ rights groups, Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) and Global Labor Justice (GLJ). Among other provisions, the appointment of a TTCU supervisor within the factory as well as zero tolerance for harassment, verbal and physical abuse is provided.
