working for change

One of the more interesting visits over the past week, for me personally, has been the Social Action Center of TTS, since it relates most to the living wage campaign I've been involved with at Vanderbilt this past year. The Social Action Center (SAC) focuses on organizing workers like scavengers, dhobys (who wash clothes), domestic workers, farmers, weavers, etc... A staggering 93% of workers in India are unorganized. This means less than 7% are represented by a union and have guaranteed benefits like social security, disability, maternity leave.

The SAC originally began its efforts among the scavengers, people who clean and carry off trash or waste, and come almost exclusively from the Dalit community. They generally earn less than 350-400 rupees per month (about $10). Although after much agitation, the government declared that scavengers should receive 600 rupees per month, the raise exists only on paper. This seems to be a pattern here - the government enacts some law that improves conditions, then that law is soundly ignored for years and years. It makes all of the advocacy work required to pass the laws seem pretty frustrating and discouraging, when you're not even sure that people will benefit in the end.

It can also be difficult to bring people in the same profession together to stand up for their rights and form unions or coalitions, since often they are scattered in many different villages, and work for numerous private households (as in the case of domestic workers). Because of the continual harassment they face, and lack of response from officials, most workers at the bottom of the social and financial ladder are reluctant to bring any charges when there are problems, because their experience is that their complaints are ignored. Only by organizing themselves so that they can have a unified, louder voice, can any real progress happen.

Some small progress has been made, like the implementation of a board for unorganized workers, which issues i.d. cards and helps these workers get access to accident benefits, health leave, and life insurance. However, the board is not fully funded and so doesn't really function as it was intended.

I was able to sit and talk with some of the organizers, in particular two women who help organize the domestic workers and the basket weavers. It seems like some of the problems they face are similar to those any labor organizer would have in the U.S., and others are unique to India. The caste discrimination certainly adds a whole new dimention to the struggle for dignity and recognition.

And I also learned some disappointing news - Wal-Mart is planning to open stores in India! If they have so much trouble paying fair wages and treating their employees well in the U.S., just imagine what working for them in India would be like!