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In a moment reminiscent of protests in Bengaluru a decade ago, garment workers in several parts of Karnataka have protested new provident fund (PF) withdrawal rules. Unlike in April 2016 however, this time, the protests were mostly inside the factories. Workers were not allowed to leave the factories, activists and workers allege.
Around 2,500 workers at Shahi Exports’ Unit No 26 in Maddur, struck work for a few hours on Tuesday, September 29, protesting against the Union government’s move to change the rules regarding the withdrawal of PF.
The Union government introduced a new PF scheme on June 29, which imposed 12-month and 36-month waiting period clauses on workers for withdrawing their PF and Employee Pension Scheme (EPS) funds.
Shanti (name changed), a worker from the factory who is a member of the Karnataka Independent Garment Workers’ Union, told TNM that workers struck work after news spread about protests in other factories over the change in the rules.
“It was on the news yesterday, and this morning people got angry and felt that they too should protest. We took signatures from workers opposing the move. The workers are now going back to the factory,” she told TNM a little after 3.30 pm.
Shanti said that the union had had a meeting a month ago when the rules were changed. “Union members were creating awareness about it in the factory and the HR department found out. They threatened one of the union members, accusing them of spreading lies. Since then, we’ve been creating awareness only outside the factory.”
Pratibha R, president of Garment and Textile Workers Union (GATWU), told TNM that workers had also protested in Haveri, Arsikere (Hassan district), and Bommanahalli in Bengaluru.
“But these were mostly inside the factories. The management did not allow workers to come out. There was heavy police presence even at the PF office,” Pratibha said, adding that she and others had met several regional PF commissioners in Bengaluru as well as the chief PF commissioner for Karnataka.
“We told the PF commissioner that the change in rules was unacceptable. These workers earn very little. You can’t say you’re restricting their ability to withdraw the money that they need for their children’s education and to pay rent, and then claim that you’re doing it for their own good. It’s unacceptable,” Pratibha said.
The memorandum submitted to the Central PF Commissioner on September 28 demanded the immediate withdrawal of the new rules calling them an “anti-worker assault on the workers' right to access their own savings”.
“To truly understand the plight of garment workers and the harm caused by the changes to PF (EPF) regulations, one must consider factors such as their extremely low minimum wages, their status as primary breadwinners for their families, the gender dimension, and the emotional significance attached to their PF savings,” the memorandum said.
Garment workers in Karnataka have the lowest minimum wage across industries.
Shanti told TNM that in the past the rules mandated that workers receive a full settlement of their dues within two months and this included access to their PF savings which they could withdraw in full. “But now they’re telling us we can only access 75% of it now and the rest will be a year later. We want the old rule back.”
In 2016, thousands of garment workers scattered in factories across Bengaluru took to the streets as news spread about a change in PF withdrawal rules. The move took factory managements and the police by surprise, as the protesters only grew in number through the day as news spread from one factory to another and through the news. The Union government eventually withdrew the rules.
