A Global Alliance Against Forced Labour - International Labour ...

A GLOBAL ALLIANCE AGAINST FORCED LABOUR2000, it was based on the premise that appropriate microfinanceservices, adapted to the special situation ofvery poor households, should be a core component ofan effective strategy to prevent debt bondage. At thattime, approaching bonded labour from the perspectiveof preventing indebtedness was most acceptable topartner governments in the subregion. More recently,with SAP-FL and SFP joining forces, the project topromote the prevention and elimination of bonded labourin South Asia (PEBLISA) has partially reorientedits approach. In Nepal, a joint DECLARATION/SAP-FL and IPEC project addresses the specific issueof rehabilitation of former kamaiya families.360. Bonded labour arises from a web of relationsbetween worker and employer, including butnot limited to fi nancial dependency. Discriminationand social subordination are important root causes.Hence, PEBLISA seeks to develop financial andnon-financial interventions for both the preventionof bonded labour and the rehabilitation of releasedbonded labourers. Many components are commonto all project sites, but adapted to the local circumstances– primarily, the development and testing ofmicrofinance services that meet the special needs ofmainly women members of the target group, organizedin self-help groups (SHGs) (see box 3.4), accompaniedby various other interventions for social andeconomic empowerment.361. In Ranga Reddy District, Andhra Pradesh,India, the target group was chosen using selected indicatorsof vulnerability to debt bondage: these are thepoorest of the poor households (mostly dalits). 28 Themajority work as casual agricultural wage labourers,and women dominate the agricultural labour force.Landlords often prefer to employ children and youthas bonded labourers, as their cash advances tend tobe considerably lower than for adults. Operatingthrough a local dalit organization, the project federatedwomen’s savings and credit groups (SCGs) intocooperatives that function as microfinance institutions,owned and managed by community members.These have disbursed over 2,500 loans to meet consumptionand income generation needs. Bridge educationfor children, adult functional literacy, health careand awareness raising on social issues are complementarycomponents. Research has sought to understandbetter the factors that lead employers to use bondedlabour, as well as the gender dynamics. New projectcomponents include work with Vigilance Committeesand with workers’ and employers’ organizations.362. In Tamil Nadu, India, the project works indrought-prone Tiruvallur District, where agricultureis the mainstay of the rural economy. Brick kilns,power looms and rice mills are also significant employers.It targets over 2,200 of the poorest families(of which 12 per cent are headed by women), thevast majority belonging to Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes, all at risk of bondage or currentlywith bonded family members. At this project site,individual family savings boxes, where money canbe deposited on a voluntary daily basis, have provedparticularly popular – in many cases, more than doublingthe amounts saved, as well as inducing men tosave by cutting down their alcohol consumption.363. Street theatre has been used to encourage thereduction of unsustainable social expenditures; diversetraining is delivered, including market-oriented vocationalskills; an insurance scheme provides incentivesfor enrolment of children in schools and functionalliteracy classes are provided for adults. The increasedconfidence of women group members is reflected intheir demanding that the local government providetitle deeds for their house plots, pre-schools for childrenand ration shops for their villages. The genderdynamics within households are starting to changefor the better, thanks to initiatives to involve men inSCGs, joint action committees, literacy and vocationalskills training and “gender mapping” sessions. Newefforts to explore how SCGs might be linked to tradeunion structures, so as to build strong village-basedworker organizations, show considerable promise.364. The project’s work with Vigilance Committeeshas taken on heightened significance, given recent activismon bonded labour in rice mills in the district.The project is endeavouring to promote social dialoguebetween the different parties. A project-sponsoredmeeting in late 2003 was attended by around100 employer association representatives from thepower looms, rice mill and brick kiln sectors, andresulted in a series of resolutions. It represents a startin engaging employers in effective action to regulatethe system of advance wage payments. The involvementof employers’ and also workers’ organizations isessential if bonded labour practices are to be curtailedeffectively.365. Elsewhere in Tamil Nadu, ACTRAV has alsobeen organizing women’s SHGs, through six tradeunion organizations. Almost 1,200 women’s groupsare meeting regularly to save and seek loans for income-generatingactivities, such as cattle raising,weaving and baking. Group members pay a nominalcharge for trade union membership. Collective actioncan be used to solve many problems. In onearea, collective action through the trade unionUnited Front for Rural Plantation and ConstructionWorkers (UNIFRONT) has brought about a 75per cent increase in the daily wage for women agriculturallabourers. In another area, workers in theweaving sector have also secured improvements inpay and conditions from their employers and contractors,and now plan to form their own cooperatives.Collaboration between ACTRAV and PEBLISApromises to bring additional benefits through mutualsupport and lesson-learning.28 “Dalit” is the term popularly used to refer to Scheduled Castes; literally, it means “the oppressed”.78