WHO WAS JEYASRE KATHIRAVEL + OUR DEMANDS", 01 April 2021

Jeyasre Kathiravel was a 21-year-old Dalit woman from Tamil Nadu, India…

Jeyasre got a job as a garment worker at a factory called Natchi Apparel…

On January 1st 2021, Jeyasre … was discovered dead in a patch of wasteland, having been raped and murdered. Her supervisor at Natchi Apparel has since confessed and been charged with this horrific crime.

Natchi Apparel is a garment factory owned by Eastman Exports Global Clothing, India’s fourth biggest apparel exporter. Natchi Apparel is a supplier factory for multinational fashion brand H&M.

Since Jeyasre’s murder, more than 25 women have come forward to report harassment, and sexual abuse at Natchi Apparel. It is clear that gender-based violence at the factory was widespread.

The Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU), is an independent, Dalit women-led trade union, with a strong membership base in the region. They have alerted H&M and put forth their demands, but so far the response has been negligible.

Our Demands

• H&M must provide protection to the Kathiravel family and to Jeyasre’s colleagues who are under threat
• H&M must back full union recognition for the TTCU and freedom of association for workers at Natchi Apparel
• H&M must NOT cut and run from Natchi Apparel
• H&M must acknowledge the failure of its internal audit system…
• All workers at Natchi Apparel must be protected through an enforceable and binding agreement involving the TTCU union, brands and their supplier, Eastman Exports, to end the supply chain model relying on systemic gender-based violence.