May 26, in case you were wondering, it is today's date and around 200 years ago, in 1924 to be precise, it was the day when 100 something women went on strike at the Slater mill in Rhode Island, United States. Why is this strike so special? Well, turns out it was the first ever strike by workers in the history of the world. It came from frustrated workers due to their continuous exploitation by the mill owner. And god forbid if it was just a strike. It spread like forest fire with the support of local communities and other mill's workers. It finally ended when, after one mill was set ablaze, the mill owners gave in and agreed for a compromise.
But why is this relevant today? Turns out, Indian workers are trying to replicate the same to avoid becoming the next China. It all started a couple of months ago when many companies decided to boycott China because of it's stand on the current pandemic and guess who pitched in? The country with the second largest population and which will overtake China in a few decades as the most populated country.
No points for guessing. It's India.
With the Uttar Pradesh government promising lands equal to the size of Luxembourg (an European country) and many other fringe benefits, industrialists started noticing India in a crowd of cheap labour countries. But this was not enough. Indian government is not unfamiliar with the economic crisis we are going to face after the lockdown ends and in order to prevent it, it needs more and more Foreign direct investment(FDI) pouring in. So, as a cherry on the cake, it started relaxing it's labour laws in various states. For example, from 8 hour shifts days to 12 hour work shifts, firing existing employees and hiring them at much lower rates and many more.
In retaliation, Indian unions wrote to International Labour Organization. Their response? They warned the country's PM as a mother scolds her child for saying something inappropriate in front of relatives and assured the unions that tentative steps will be taken.
Tentative steps.
Tentative steps were also taken when 6 months ago 43 sleeping workers died and many more injured in a Delhi factory fire.
However, the trend is experiencing a shift now. As customers are becoming more aware, companies will have to stop selling their conscience. This trend is led by major fashion brands like Adidas, H&M, Mark & Spencers etc. which are making their supply chain more transparent and treating their factory workers less like slaves and more humanely.
India is a densely populated country. Still it valued it's workforce more than economic gains and unlike United States and many other developed countries, took the brave step of closing down everything just in time. But is it fair to push the same workforce into utter slavery for reviving the economy?
Pour your thoughts down in the comments section.