VZCZCXRO7784
RR RUEHBI
DE RUEHCG #0694/01 3321131
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281131Z NOV 07
FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1358
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2877
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 5146
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 1374
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 CHENNAI 000694 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP G. PATEL AND M. TAYLOR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB PHUM ECON KCRM PGOV SOCI IN
SUBJECT:  TAMIL NADU GARMENT INDUSTRY (MOSTLY) CHILD LABOR FREE BUT 
SOME WORRY APPRENTICES ARE BONDED LABORERS 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY:  Tirupur, a small city near Coimbatore, Tamil 
Nadu's second largest city, is a remarkable economic success story. 
In the span of just a few decades, Tirupur's garment industry has 
grown to account for more than half of India's knitwear exports. 
With a rapid growth creating a demand for much unskilled and 
semi-skilled labor, problematic labor practices have plagued the 
industry.  There has been progress, including the virtual 
elimination of child labor according to the government.  Concerns 
remain, however, with attention now being paid to an apprenticeship 
system that some advocates feel amounts to bonded labor.  Visiting 
Tirupur we discovered that the harsh interplay of poverty, gender 
roles, and traditions in India means that regulating, rather than 
eliminating, the practice may be the best way forward.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
GOVERNMENT SAYS DISTRICT IS CHILD LABOR FREE 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In the past, child labor was considered "rampant" in 
Tirupur.  (NOTE:  We are using the Indian legal definition which 
prohibits work by children who have not reached their fourteenth 
birthday.  END NOTE.)  Today Coimbatore district (which includes 
Tirupur) is "child labor free," according to District Collector 
Neeraj Mittal.  Mittal said that the phrase "child labor free" meant 
that child labor has been "basically" eliminated, but candidly 
acknowledged a very small number of children may be employed in the 
garment industry.  In a separate meeting, officials from the Tirupur 
Exporters Association also told us that child labor, rampant a 
decade ago, has been eliminated among its members, who employ 
300,000 workers and export worldwide, especially to the United 
States. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Mittal said "the big companies know not to do it; they 
have got too much to lose."  But, he added, some "marginal" 
businesses may employ one or two children who are close to their 
fourteenth birthday.   He likened the challenge of totally 
eliminating child labor in these small textile units to tackling the 
problem of children working as domestic servants in India.  Short of 
going door to door throughout the entire district, a task for which 
Mittal said he did not have the resources, it is impossible to 
ensure that there are absolutely zero children working.  To 
highlight his commitment to doing everything within his power, he 
told us that the day prior to the meeting the government had 
conducted six raids on textile units in response to a media report 
about child labor in Tirupur.  Mittal said of the thousands of 
workers in the facilities raided, only one child laborer was found. 
 
 
NGOS ACKNOWLEDGE DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENTS; BUT 
SAY SOME SMALL FACTORIES STILL EMPLOY CHILDREN 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) NGO representatives largely agreed with Mittal's positive 
assessment of the child labor situation.  A. Aloysius, Director of 
SAVE, an NGO which has worked on labor issues in Tirupur for more 
than ten years, told us child labor is no longer a major focus of 
his organization because it has been dramatically reduced in 
Tirupur.  A SAVE report states:  "the strength of children in the 
workforce has come down considerably in the last 5 years due to the 
activism of civil society organizations, both local and 
international and the increased intervention of the State."  With 
child labor receding, Aloysius's organization has turned its 
attention to the problem of using apprenticeships to hire legally 
employable girls and young women under unfavorable circumstances (to 
be discussed later). 
 
¶5.  (SBU) C. Nambi, Director of the Center for Social Education and 
Development (CSED), was also positive though he added that he felt 
both Mittal and SAVE were overly optimistic.  In a 1999 study based 
on interviews of families in Tirupur, CSED found that there were 
40,000 child laborers in the industry.  Nambi agreed that child 
labor in Tirupur had diminished but he told us he believes that 
there are still 10,000 children working in the garment industry 
today.  When asked about the basis for this figure, he said it was 
only an estimate and that CSED had not actually conducted a follow 
up to the 1999 study.  Nambi added that these children are working 
in small factories which service the Indian market.  He said 
children do not work in the large factories which service the export 
market. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Speaking about the recent government raid which netted 
only one child laborer, Nambi said District Collector Mittal only 
initiated the raid after CSED had gotten a national television 
channel to run a story on the situation.  Nambi said CSED had first 
approached the District Collector but he had not taken any action. 
 
CHENNAI 00000694  002 OF 004 
 
 
He also said the reason they only turned up one child laborer is 
that, against Nambi's advice to the District Collector's 
subordinates, the government conducted the raid the day after the 
important Indian holiday Diwali and most of the workers -- child 
laborers included -- had traveled to their home villages. 
 
APPRENTICESHIP OR BONDED LABOR? 
------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) While Nambi and Aloysius agreed that Tirupur had made 
substantial strides against child labor, they were both concerned 
with a problematic new development in the garment industry:  the 
"Sumangali" apprenticeship system.  According to Aloysius, the use 
of the word sumangali -- a term used to describe a woman who will 
have a happy married life -- plays on poor Indian families' 
anxieties about getting their daughters married.  The details vary 
from company to company, but the broad contours are the same across 
the industry.  Girls and young women, ranging from fourteen to 
twenty years old, are recruited to work as apprentices in the 
garment industry.  Recruiters assure parents that the girls will be 
kept safe, with housing provided in "company hostels" and that at 
the end of their apprenticeship they will receive a lump sum payment 
of roughly $600 USD to $900 USD which can be used to pay their 
dowry.  The apprentices also receive a monthly wage, but it is 
thirty to fifty percent less than normal workers in the industry. 
Aloysius estimates that at least 200,000 young women are working 
under Sumangali-type schemes in Tamil Nadu. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Aloysius said he thinks the Sumangali scheme is a form of 
bonded labor, but noted that "many people" do not agree with him. 
He acknowledged that it is not a classic example of bonded labor as 
there is no debt involved.  But Aloysius said the employers hold the 
lump-sum payment due at the end of the apprenticeship over the young 
women in much the same way a debt is used against typical bonded 
laborers.  Fear of losing the big payout at the end of their 
apprenticeship makes the girls and young women reluctant to complain 
about conditions in the factory or to assert their rights, he said. 
Aloysius further said that very few apprentices get paid the full 
amount due to them:  most are pressured to quit during the final 
months of their tenure and their failure to serve the full period is 
used as an excuse to withhold the lump-sum payment. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) NGOs are primarily concerned, however, with the severe 
restrictions on the apprentices' freedom of movement.  Aloysius said 
the majority of the apprentices live within the factory compound 
walls; some live in off-site hostels.  (NOTE:  Driving around 
Tirupur we were carefully scrutinized by security guards as we 
looked at several garment factories surrounded by ten-foot high 
walls.  It is easy to imagine that the young girls and women working 
in those factories would feel imprisoned there.  END NOTE.)  In 
either case, he told us that apprentices cannot leave the factory 
premises or their hostel without permission and when they do so they 
are accompanied by company staff.  The only manner in which an 
apprentice can leave without the employer accompanying them is if 
one of their parents comes and asks for their release.  Aloysius 
explained that since most of the apprentices are migrants from other 
parts of Tamil Nadu or other states in India, it is rare that their 
parents actually come to visit during the three year period. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Aloysius and one of SAVE's staff members raised a number 
of other concerns regarding treatment of the apprentices.  Aloysius 
said the apprentices are verbally abused.  When we asked about 
physical or sexual abuse, Aloysius said he was not aware of any such 
allegations.  His colleague said it is "possible" that there is 
physical abuse but did not identify particular cases.  Both said 
that the apprentices are regularly required to work substantial 
amounts of uncompensated or poorly compensated overtime.  They said 
the apprentices are often driven to the point of physical exhaustion 
and that injuries frequently result from inattention brought on by 
their exhaustion. 
 
FORMER APPRENTICE DESCRIBES LIMITS ON FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT 
BUT CONTRADICTS CLAIMS OF OTHER SUMANGALI ABUSES 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Aloysius introduced us to eighteen year old Lakshmi, who 
SAVE recently helped leave her apprenticeship.  Her story 
illustrates the complexities of the Sumangali system.  Lakshmi, 
along with her mother, talked freely with us about her experience. 
She said she entered into the apprenticeship when she was sixteen 
years old and worked at the factory for more than two years.  During 
her two years there she rarely left the factory premises and only 
with the permission of the female "warden" who was responsible for 
the apprentices.  Lakshmi said the warden was "strict but nice." 
Apprentices worked eight hour shifts, six days a week.  When asked 
 
CHENNAI 00000694  003 OF 004 
 
 
what they did in their free time, Lakshmi said they played soccer 
and volleyball and watched television on the company premises. 
Lakshmi said the accommodations were nice, their meals good, and 
that she enjoyed the company of the other girls.  She added that 
they were not physically abused, but that the warden and other 
supervisors did scold them harshly.  She also said they injured 
themselves frequently and medical care was limited to basic first 
aid. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Lakshmi said she ultimately decided to leave the factory 
because "her heart was heavy knowing that she couldn't leave" when 
she wanted to.  Her mother came and got her released after Lakshmi 
had worked two years and four months of her three year commitment. 
After terminating her apprenticeship early, Lakshmi was paid 19,000 
of the 25,000 rupees ($485 of the $637 USD) she was promised when 
she joined.  She said she knew several apprentices who had left 
early and that they were paid similar pro rata portions of the 
lump-sum they were originally promised. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) When we asked the accompanying SAVE staff member about 
why the conditions Lakshmi experienced were much better than what 
Aloysius and he had described, he said that Lakshmi had worked in 
one of the biggest factories with a "good warden."  The SAVE staff 
member admitted that the larger companies generally treat the 
apprentices well and that the abuses he and Aloysius described 
usually take place in smaller garment factories. 
 
GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL:  APPRENTICESHIP ARE LEGAL 
BUT POLICIES SHOULD BE CHANGED TO LIMIT ABUSES 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Our discussion with Neeraj Mittal, District Collector of 
Coimbatore, about the Sumangali apprenticeships revealed a 
knowledgeable and concerned government official.  Mittal began by 
noting that "this is not a question of law enforcement" but of 
"whether the law should be changed" because the law clearly "permits 
these apprenticeships."  He said he feels that the industry is using 
a loophole to its advantage:  hiring the girls and young women as 
apprentices allows the companies to get around minimum wage laws. 
"Apprenticeship in this industry makes sense for six months, maybe a 
year.  A three year apprenticeship is excessive, but it is permitted 
by law," Mittal told us. 
 
¶15.  (SBU) Regarding the complaints that many of the apprentices are 
required to work extra hours, Mittal candidly said the complaints 
are probably true.  Having just returned from a sabbatical during 
which he studied in the United States, Mittal analogized the 
apprentices to teachers' assistants in U.S. universities.  "The 
professor asks you to help out for a couple of hours and you say 'of 
course' because he has your assistantship in his hands.  The same 
way," he said, "the apprentices are willing to work extra hours 
because they want the big payment at the end."  Because of the 
potential for abuse, Mittal said he had recommended to the central 
labor authorities that a minimum wage be implemented for 
apprentices, "but that is a policy decision that I cannot make." 
 
TIRUPUR'S MIXED BAG: PROGRESS ON CHILD LABOR 
BUT SUMANGALI STEMS FROM POVERTY AND TRADITION 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶16.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Tirupur's garment industry shows the potential 
and the challenges of balancing human rights and development in 
India.  A concerted effort led by NGOs with buy-in from industry and 
government has led to a substantial reduction, if not elimination, 
of child labor in the garment industry.  But the demand for workers 
in Tirupur's garment factories remains high and the industry has 
exploited the apprenticeship provisions of Indian labor law to set 
up a system that allows them to employ large numbers of legally 
employable girls and young women at favorable wages.  Most 
troublingly, the apprentices are denied at least some right to 
freedom of movement. 
 
¶17.  (SBU) COMMENT CONTINUED.  Poverty and traditional roles are 
critical factors in the development of the Sumangali system.  Upon 
completion of compulsory education at age fourteen, girls from poor 
rural communities have few options.  The apprenticeships are 
alluring to the girls and their families.  They promise a job with a 
modest monthly salary, room and board, and the significant (by their 
standards) payout at the end which can be used for a dowry. 
Lakshmi's mother told us that, as a widow, the apprenticeship 
provided her daughter and her with an excellent opportunity.  And 
the restrictions on the apprentices' freedom of movement are 
actually a big draw to the parents.  Aloysius of SAVE said "even 
after all of our efforts families think this is a good idea; it 
keeps their girls cloistered, safe from getting pregnant.  Plus, 
 
CHENNAI 00000694  004 OF 004 
 
 
there is no agricultural employment for them."  Poor families see 
the apprenticeship as a kind of tuition-free all-girls boarding 
school for their daughter, which even provides a dowry at the end of 
it all.  Under these circumstances, eliminating Sumangali -- a 
laudable goal -- may be impractical.  Rather, as Aloysius and Mittal 
advocate, regulating it to eliminate the abuses, may be the best way 
forward.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶18.  (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy New Delhi. 
 
HOPPER