Operator Anil (name changed) has just returned after one-and-a-half months from his home in Uttar Pradesh to his factory Gupta Exim because he got a phone call from his HR Department to return immediately. On the other hand local youth don’t have a job and are not interested in working for the factory. This situation is not only true to Gupta Exim, situated 40 kilometres away from Delhi in Prithla village near Palwal district, but also to other garment factories in nearby villages of Dudhola and Dhatir. Gupta Exim employs more than 4,000 workers at two factories in the region and more than 95 per cent are migratory workers; mostly living in a radius of 15 to 20 kilometres from the factory at Ballabgarh and Badarpur border, Delhi. Ironically, the local youth of the above villages are working in Noida, Gurgaon and Delhi although they can get the same wages in their own villages and save on both time and money. Apparel Online talks to Panchayat representatives, factory heads and some workers to understand why the mismatch…
There are more than 100 small and big factories in the area of 5 to 7 kilometres from Prithla village. Most of the villagers feel that they have not been able to benefit from these factories being situated in their villages. The only small benefit they see is that they are making some money by renting rooms to migratory workers and also supplying daily need goods to the same. When the projects were setup, villagers were hopeful that their youth would get enough jobs in these factories to remain at home, and initially it happened but they were unable to survive long. “I helped around 40 local workers to get job in Gupta Exim when it was started here, but none of them is working there nowadays. Almost all factories have the same story; no doubt, some of our youth is responsible for this situation and now these factories deny giving jobs to the locals even after our written assurance,” says Ram Niwas Tanwar, a local youth of Prithla village and the Jila Parshad. The Sarpanch of Prithla village, Ram Chandra has a similar experience to share, “Our young workforce is not disciplined. My efforts made possible jobs for 75 people but most of them worked only for three months,” he says.
Both these public representatives say that some of their local youth have had quarrels on petty issues with the factories, and have been type casted for misbehaviour with colleagues and seniors. Unfortunately, because of the unruly behaviour of a section of the youth, other needy and more disciplined and deserving workforce of the villages are suffering, as the factories deny jobs to them even after many efforts for reconciliations. Most of youth are not accustomed to the working style of garment factories and don’t work according to factory rules and needs, like they are not willing to work in night shifts. They get aggressive on small issues and despite efforts of local representatives, there is no improvement in the attitude. It is sad that the social, economical and psychological background of these young boys has resulted in just 1 to 1.5 per cent youth of the local villages working in these factories. Noteworthy is the fact that 40 workers of Burja, a small village nearby are working in the local factories smoothly because they are completely following discipline.
[bleft] Though Gupta Exim is running a free dispensary for the local villagers, there is no infrastructure improvement by the industrialization of the villages. Industry should come forward with its CSR efforts like the adoption of school or hospital, or start a training centre to make the villages more adaptable to garment industry. [/bleft]
The Numberdar of Dudhola village, Bhola Ram, raises a pertinent question, “We admit that our youth have many faults, but what did the factories do at their own level to counsel, train and motivate these youngsters. We have never heard of any efforts to integrate these young boys into the system.”
In Dhatir, a nearby village, a factory of Neelkanth Apparels with a capacity of garment processing 1.5 lakh pieces per month, also has migratory operators/masters and they have created facilities for a dormitory and canteen within the factory premises. “We welcome local workers if they are willing to learn. We had kept a few locals but they were not willing to work overtime. We even motivated our masters to bring new people and train them but it could not happen,” informs Harish Choudhary, Director, Neelkanth Apparels.
Dudhola village has a factory of JD Apparels with 150 machines, and more than half the workers are migratory and from the outskirt of Delhi with only 5 per cent accounted for are local workers. Deepak Todi, Director says, “I feel that local people have less inclination to learn; in the festival season, when the migratory workers went to their homes we had to arrange labour with the help of contractors. Moreover, labour is labour, be it local or from anywhere else and they are always difficult to handle. Being a small factory, we can’t individually focus on training for the locals. Our workers do purchase all their grocery from the local shops which has boosted the local economy.” The company has dormitory for the workers but is now offering them rent to get rooms in villages as per buyer instructions.
Few companies declined to speak on this issue, so it is not clear what they are presently doing to offer employment in the villages. However, it is clear that for joint growth of all stakeholders there is need for dialogue at every level, else the deadlock will remain!
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