SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2256those persons responsible. Unaffiliated unions are not able, in all instances, to securefor themselves the protections and rights provided by law.In June the Government announced its intention to modify the Trade Union Act.The Government convened the Indian Labor Conference, which brought togethergovernment and trade union representatives to discuss modification of the TradeUnion Act, but the conference took no substantive action on the act and it remainedunchanged at year’s end.Unions are free to affiliate with international trade union organizations. The IndianNational Trade Union Congress and the Hind Mazdoor Sabha are affiliatedwith the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), while the AllIndia Trade Union Congress is affiliated with the World Federation of TradeUnions.b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.—The right to bargain collectivelyhas existed for decades. The Trade Union Act prohibits discrimination againstunion members and organizers, and employers are penalized if they discriminateagainst employees engaged in union activities.Collective bargaining is the normal means of setting wages and settling disputesin unionized plants in the organized industrial sector. Trade unions vigorously defendworker interests in this process. Although a system of specialized labor courtsadjudicates labor disputes, there are long delays and a backlog of unresolved cases.When the parties are unable to agree on equitable wages, the Government may establishboards of union, management, and government representatives to determinethem.In practice legal protections of worker rights are effective only for the 30 millionworkers in the organized industrial sector, out of a total work force of more than400 million persons. Outside the modern industrial sector, laws are difficult to enforce.Union membership is rare in the informal sector, and collective bargainingdoes not exist.There are seven Export Processing Zones (EPZ’s). Entry into the EPZ’s ordinarilyis limited to employees. Such entry restrictions apply to union organizers. All companiesbus their workers directly to and from the factory. While workers in theEPZ’s have the right to organize and to bargain collectively, union activity is rare.In addition unions have not pursued vigorously efforts to organize private-sector employeesanywhere in the years since EPZ’s were established. There have been effortsto organize workers in the EPZ’s and unions have complained that such attemptswere suppressed in Kerala and Gujarat. The fact that organizers are barred fromEPZ’s and workers are bused to EPZ’s helps prevent unions from forming. Womenconstitute the majority of the work force in the EPZ’s. The ICFTU reports that overtimeis compulsory in the EPZ’s, that workers often are employed on temporary contractswith fictitious contractors rather than directly by the company, and thatworkers fear that complaints about substandard working conditions would result intheir being fired. In March 1999, the Union Ministry of Commerce announced itsintention to convert all EPZ’s into free trade zones and eliminate government interferencein their functioning. Because of trade unions’ and the Union Ministry of Labor’sopposition to this change, the Government did not implement the plan. In Junethe Government announced its intention to establish special economic zones patternedon the Chinese model, and on November 1, four out of seven existing EPZ’swere converted without significant oppostion. These zones are not exempt from laborlegislation.c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.—Both the Constitution and specificstatutes prohibit forced or compulsory labor, and bonded labor, as a form of compulsorylabor, also is prohibited by statute; however, such practices are widespread.The Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act of 1976 prohibits all bonded labor, byadults and children. Offenders may be sentenced to up to 3 years in prison, butprosecutions are rare. Enforcement of this statute, which is the responsibility ofstate and local governments, varies from state to state and generally has not beeneffective, due to inadequate resources and to societal acceptance of bonded or forcedlabor. Labor inspectors at the state and local level have overwhelming case loads,and in many cases, do not receive adequate support or protection to challenge employers,who often have direct access to government officials. On the occasions wheninspectors refer violations for prosecution, long court backlogs and inadequate fundingfor legal counsel frequently result in acquittals. NGO’s estimate that there are5 to 40 million bonded laborers in the country, including a large number of children(see Section 6.d.). According to HRW, the majority of bonded laborers are Dalits (seeSection 5), and bondage is passed from one generation to the next.A Supreme Court decision defined forced labor as work at less than the minimumwage, which usually is set by the state governments. Under this definition, whichdiffers from that of the ILO, forced labor is widespread, especially in rural areas.VerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.035 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1