Exploitation at Export Employment: Case of Women Workers of Tirupur Garment Industries

Abstract

The Tirupur export garment industry highly depends on the nimble finger (unmarried young women workers of Tamil Nadu) in India has ambiguous measure on informal Vs. formal sector when come to address the issues faced by the workers in general and women workers in particular.  India being founder member of ILO in 1919 and aimed to fight for  at par with international standard, The third world/ developing/ emerging economies experiences class and caste for an example India, where women face dual oppression from spouse and from employer and even by society at large. In this juncture rights to women as social being as well as workers and industrial being is crucial topics to be researched. The socio –cultural oppression such as dowry/ sreedhan/ kanyadhan etc, are established sanctions against women in India; The social structure, poverty, oppression, restriction to mobility etc., are the major evils faced by Indian women every day. There is new division of labour called ‘feminized worker’ gendered labour, flexible labour etc., which have been talk of the world in the era of neo-liberal globalization; The shock therapy called Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) which stood as  pillar of eradication , attack on  labour market, diminished labour legislation, and caused informalisation,  closure of job security. The reserve army of women workers forced to take up works in the international productions such as garments (RMG).This paper is an attempt to analyses the case sumangali thittam in which women workers of Tirupur garment industries are fielded; the same can be also called Camp Collie System, mangalya thittam, Wedding Scheme. The present paper is based on ethnographic as well as qualitative research done by the author in the field of Tirupur garment Industry.