Chennai, March 27:

They are the signposts of India’s resolve to embrace the global economy. But many see the special economic zones (SEZs) as sweatshops where employers maintain suffocating control over workers.

Komathi (name changed) operates a stitching machine in a garment unit in the Madras Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) at Tambaram on the outskirts of Chennai. It came up in 1984 and was accorded the status of an SEZ in 2002. Grassroots Features quotes Komathi as describing a typical day in the life of a worker there, “The work starts at 8.30. On most days, there is two or three hours’ compulsory extra work. If we refuse, we would be fired. Daily stitching targets have to be achieved before leaving.”

“The management frequently increase the stitching quota. Afr-aid of getting fired, we work ha-rder without taking a break for tea. Even if we lift our heads to talk to our co-workers, they yell at us.” She pleads not to reveal her real name or the name of the factory as she could be fired.

Komathi cannot afford to lose her job since her husband, who used to be a farmhand, has no regular work. “My family’s survival depends on my income. There is no alternative.” Komathi is one of the thousands of village women who are driven by poverty and unemployment to work in various industrial units in MEPZ. Over 70 per cent of the around 22,000 workers in the zone are women, mostly of 18-25 years.

Women are employed mainly in labour-intensive industries such as textiles and electronics, at the lowest rung of the hierarchy. Most are hired on short-term contracts to facilitate easy hiring and firing and to avoid maternity and redundancy pay.

In return, they are pitable wages. A majority is paid a daily wage between Rs 30 Indian Currency (IC) and Rs 70 IC - way below the stipulated norms. Workers complain that units often set too high production targets. “Only if we work extremely hard can we achieve the target. Those who cannot finish have to do overtime,” says a 22-year-old female worker.

“If we’re still unable to complete the target, supervisors will take away our identity cards. Without ID cards, even if we come to work they will not mark our attendance, and subsequently our salary gets cut.” The pressure to meet stiff targets very often means that workers can hardly take time off even to visit the toilet. “We cannot go to the toilet often,” says a 29-year-old, “Each of us has a token number, and each time we go to the toilet, this number is entered against our names. They check the register to find out how many entries are made, and the supervisors, mostly men, would shout at us.”

“Sometimes they will lock all the toilets 15 minutes before each shift ends. If many entries are made against a person’s name, they will warn that person, and often cut the increment.” Women workers point out that even pregnant women don’t get any consideration while setting the work targets, and they too are forced to work for hours standing or sitting at a stretch.

Hard work, stress and the unhealthy work environment have taken their toll on labourers’ health. A study among female factory workers, mainly at the MEPZ, done by Padmini Swaminathan, director of the Madras Institute of Development Studies, revealed that the women suffered from acute back ache, joint pains, swelling in the leg, severe stomach ache, allergies and piles.

When contacted, the zone’s development commissioner B Vijayan asked, “If workers are exploited so much, then why don’t they speak out? The zone is not exempted from labour laws. The SEZ workers are entitled to all the benefits enjoyed by other labourers under various laws.” The answer, however, is simple: the workers are afraid of losing their jobs.

“The managements say if we let out the truth, the company will be closed down,” says a 23-year-old woman worker, “Women are so scared that at times they literally run away on seeing us,” said E Ponmudi, secretary of MEPZ Employees Union (EU).