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Sumangali (child labour)
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Sumangali (child labour)
Sumangali is a form of child labour which, although forbidden, is practised in India, particularly the textile industry in Tamil Nadu. It is likened to soft trafficking, a less explicit form of human trafficking. In the scheme, a girl is hired on contract for three to five years, during which she earns a wage, and after which she is paid a lump sum to pay for a dowry. It is said to have originated in Coimbatore in the late 1990s.
The scheme is also known as Sumungali scheme, Sumungali Thittam, Suba Mangala scheme, Subha Mangala scheme, Mangalya Thittam, Thirumangalam thiruman thittam, the marriage scheme, and the camp coolie system. The term Sumangali means "married woman" or "happily married woman" in Tamil. It refers to a "single girl becoming a respectable woman through marriage".
A recruiter visits households of prospective young female labourers and discusses with the girl and her parents the benefits of Sumangali work. Most of the target girls are from poor families, and usually between 15 and 18 years old. Benefits offered may include three meals a day, air conditioning, a swimming pool, and free movies, all available at the employer's dormitory. They may also offer a bonus to be paid at the end of the contract. The recruiter is paid a commission for each girl hired by the textile manufacturer. Some girls are taken without their parents' consent.
More than 80 percent of recruits are hired for work in spinning mills. The remainder work in garment manufacturing.
Once hired on contract, the girls move into a company-controlled compound, and are trained for their jobs as apprentices. The compounds are kept under surveillance, and the girls are rarely permitted to leave and have little contact with their families. The girls are required to work long shifts in noisy factories, are subjected to verbal and physical abuse, and are paid low wages. The girls are expected to work 12-hour shifts six days a week, and sometimes additional night shifts or overtime.
The purpose of the compound is to prevent contact between the girls and union activists, and to supervise the activities of the employees. To leave the compound during their employment, they must be accompanied by a warden. The girls are permitted to visit their family during Diwali and Thai Pongal. According to the Tirupur People's Forum, the compounds are dingy and dusty, and may be repurposed buildings, such as poultry barns.
Some employers in this industry may also require the girls work a minimum of 26 days a month, and deduct from their wages fifteen rupees per day for missing a single day. The starting wage is 34 rupees a day, increasing by 2 rupees per day every six months to a maximum of 45 rupees per day. From this wage, deductions are made by the employer for employer-mandated lodging and meals at the compound, typically 450–550 rupees per month.
The bonus promised to them is also deducted from their wages, a form of debt bondage illegal in India since 1976, and is to be part of a dowry, illegal in India since 1961. Few girls obtain the bonus, as most are injured or become ill and are fired, or simply wear out and quit. Most that approach the employment duration for the bonus are "fired for some pretext or another", such as for contacting union activists. As the girls are considered apprentices, the manufacturers calculate the girls' wages with respect to minimum wage laws as the combined contract salary and future bonus.
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Sumangali (child labour)
Sumangali is a form of child labour which, although forbidden, is practised in India, particularly the textile industry in Tamil Nadu. It is likened to soft trafficking, a less explicit form of human trafficking. In the scheme, a girl is hired on contract for three to five years, during which she earns a wage, and after which she is paid a lump sum to pay for a dowry. It is said to have originated in Coimbatore in the late 1990s.
The scheme is also known as Sumungali scheme, Sumungali Thittam, Suba Mangala scheme, Subha Mangala scheme, Mangalya Thittam, Thirumangalam thiruman thittam, the marriage scheme, and the camp coolie system. The term Sumangali means "married woman" or "happily married woman" in Tamil. It refers to a "single girl becoming a respectable woman through marriage".
A recruiter visits households of prospective young female labourers and discusses with the girl and her parents the benefits of Sumangali work. Most of the target girls are from poor families, and usually between 15 and 18 years old. Benefits offered may include three meals a day, air conditioning, a swimming pool, and free movies, all available at the employer's dormitory. They may also offer a bonus to be paid at the end of the contract. The recruiter is paid a commission for each girl hired by the textile manufacturer. Some girls are taken without their parents' consent.
More than 80 percent of recruits are hired for work in spinning mills. The remainder work in garment manufacturing.
Once hired on contract, the girls move into a company-controlled compound, and are trained for their jobs as apprentices. The compounds are kept under surveillance, and the girls are rarely permitted to leave and have little contact with their families. The girls are required to work long shifts in noisy factories, are subjected to verbal and physical abuse, and are paid low wages. The girls are expected to work 12-hour shifts six days a week, and sometimes additional night shifts or overtime.
The purpose of the compound is to prevent contact between the girls and union activists, and to supervise the activities of the employees. To leave the compound during their employment, they must be accompanied by a warden. The girls are permitted to visit their family during Diwali and Thai Pongal. According to the Tirupur People's Forum, the compounds are dingy and dusty, and may be repurposed buildings, such as poultry barns.
Some employers in this industry may also require the girls work a minimum of 26 days a month, and deduct from their wages fifteen rupees per day for missing a single day. The starting wage is 34 rupees a day, increasing by 2 rupees per day every six months to a maximum of 45 rupees per day. From this wage, deductions are made by the employer for employer-mandated lodging and meals at the compound, typically 450–550 rupees per month.
The bonus promised to them is also deducted from their wages, a form of debt bondage illegal in India since 1976, and is to be part of a dowry, illegal in India since 1961. Few girls obtain the bonus, as most are injured or become ill and are fired, or simply wear out and quit. Most that approach the employment duration for the bonus are "fired for some pretext or another", such as for contacting union activists. As the girls are considered apprentices, the manufacturers calculate the girls' wages with respect to minimum wage laws as the combined contract salary and future bonus.