Most Peenya factories plagued by salary delays

Ahna Prakash | NT
Bengaluru

Sangeeta, a widow who works in a shoe factory in Peenya Industrial Area, has not received her salary for the last six months. When she confronted the factory owner regarding this issue, she was verbally abused and called names. This isn’t an isolated incident; several others working in small factories in Peenya say that they have been waiting for their salaries for months.

“The factory owner hasn’t given me a salary since March. Every time I would go and complain, he would say come next week. When I contacted union workers, the factory owner gave me a cheque, fearing the wrath of the union. But when I went to the bank, the bank authorities informed me that the cheque had bounced,” said Sangeeta. She also claims that several other female workers in the factory are frequently verbally and physically abused by the owner when they demand timely wages.

Another factory worker, Nagraj claims that he hasn’t received his salary since April and has to take up a loan from a local money lender to provide for his family.

“The owner said that I will receive Rs 9,000 every month, but then the salary was not credited. I have a daughter and I am the only earning member in the family. It becomes very difficult to run a household with no income. I had to arrange money from local moneylenders, and they charge hefty interest rates. Now I will have to pay them back. It’s like a loop that we are stuck in,” said Nagraj. He added that the factory makes shoes for well-known brands like Bata.

On Wednesday, the factory workers along with members of All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) organised a sit-in protest at the factory demanding payment of pending salaries.
“This is a very common thing in Peenya, as the majority of the companies that are there don’t follow the labour laws. They don’t follow the provision of minimum wage and this is the reason why most of the workers in these factories are underpaid. In fact, child labour, physical and verbal abuse is also common in these factories,” said Arindam of AICCTU.

Following the sit-in protest by AICCTU, three workers in the shoe factory were provided with their salary.

The new labour law codes introduced by the Union Government in July, capped the weekly work hours to 48. However, employees in the factories at Peenya complain that they often have to work for long hours in hazardous environments and they are never compensated for that.