The ripple effects of worker power: How the Dindigul Agreement is transforming lives
Tamil Nadu Textile & Common Labour Union (TTCU)
By Thivya Rakini, Oorja Engineer and Jeeva M, Tamil Nadu Textile & Common Labour Union (TTCU)
In 2021, when women garment workers gathered to envision the Dindigul Agreement to Eliminate Gender-based Violence and Harassment, there was one urgent need: creating a garment factory free from violence and harassment. Three years later, impact on the ground has far exceeded those initial aims. This enforceable brand agreement (EBA) including Tamil Nadu Textile & Common Labor Union (TTCU), Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), Global Labour Justice (GLJ), Eastman Exports, and global brands like H&M, GAP and PVH has evolved beyond its original scope of addressing workplace harassment. It’s a catalyst for change - empowering women to challenge violence and discrimination in every sphere of their lives.
As the trade union working directly with women workers at Eastman Exports factories, we've seen a remarkable journey: women who once remained silent and fearful are now emerging as leaders who confront injustice not just at work, but in their homes and communities.
Building worker power through shop floor monitors
The backbone of this transformation is the Shop Floor Monitor (SFM) system implemented in Eastman Exports. Each production line has its own woman worker leader who serves as a monitor, trained to document and address gender and caste-based violence and harassment. Provisions in the Agreement protect monitors from retaliation, creating a chain of trust: when a worker faces harassment, she knows her line monitor not only understands her situation but has the institutional backing to take action.
From factory floor to community change
Breaking the silence on domestic violence
The trust built through the SFM system has opened doors for women to speak up about violence not just in factories, but in their homes and communities. Recently, when a worker revealed she had been drugged and repeatedly assaulted by her husband, we witnessed workplace protections extending into domestic spaces. Through the intervention of one SFM, we sheltered her at our union office, offered legal support, and coordinated counselling services. We worked with Eastman Exports management to ensure transportation to the factory from a secure location, allowing her to continue working while staying protected from her abuser.
Tamil Nadu Textile & Common Labour Union (TTCU)
Workplace support systems foster solidarity and sisterhood in the fight against violence. When one woman worker faced alcoholism-fuelled violence at home, the SFMs helped her navigate the legal system and demonstrated true sisterhood by sharing her workload during her crisis. When her husband's behaviour threatened her job security, the SFMs intervened with management on her behalf, helped file a police complaint, and ensured she and her children could live in their house without facing harassment.
Challenging caste discrimination
Our success in tackling workplace discrimination has given women workers the confidence to challenge entrenched prejudices in their communities. Consider how one Dalit worker transformed her experience under the Dindigul Agreement into broader social change: for years, she had endured the daily humiliation of being forced to sit on the factory bus floor because of her caste. But after successfully challenging discrimination at work through the Agreement's protections, she fought back and won, with union support - ensuring no Dalit woman would ever again be forced to sit on the floor on that bus route.
In another example, a woman worker who had been barred from her family temple for 10 years after marrying a lower caste man took her fight public. The knowledge and confidence gained through her work as an SFM enabled her to challenge this injustice through legal channels - and win.
These victories illuminate a chain reaction: when women workers demand their rights in factories, they discover collective power to challenge discrimination everywhere. What begins as resistance to injustice at the workplace grows into a broader political movement confronting centuries-old oppressive practices in their communities.
Transforming workers into community leaders
The most exciting outcome is seeing women translate their workplace advocacy skills into community leadership, applying their experience with workplace democracy to strengthen local democracy. SFMs now approach Gram Panchayat leaders with the same confidence they show on the factory floor.
In one remote village facing severe water scarcity, our women workers - already burdened with factory work and household duties - decided to take collective action. Having to carry water from distant sources before and after long factory shifts had become unbearable. They came together to demand change from village authorities. When their demands went unheard, they strategically threatened to escalate to district level authorities, drawing on their workplace organising experience. The result? Water supply improved within two days, transforming their daily lives and reinforcing their collective power.
Tamil Nadu Textile & Common Labour Union (TTCU)
Creating lasting change
Our experience proves workplace agreements can be powerful engines of social transformation. When women gain the tools, protection and confidence to challenge harassment at work, they apply these skills across all areas of their lives. The Dindigul Agreement isn't just creating safer factories - it's building a movement of empowered women who demand dignity everywhere.
For everyone working to eliminate gender-based violence, our message is simple: strong and enforceable workplace agreements create ripple effects throughout society. By securing women's rights at work, we give them the foundation to demand respect in every space they occupy. This is how real change happens - one factory floor, one village, one woman at a time.
Written on behalf of Tamil Nadu Textile & Common Labour Union (TTCU)
By Thivya Rakini, State President and Oorja Engineer, Communication & Advocacy Volunteer with inputs from Jeeva M, General Secretary
If you are interested to know more about TTCU or volunteer with them, please write to them at [email protected]