Vijayamma Sughadev, 45, has spent most of her adult life in a shrimp peeling shed in Ambalappuzha, a coastal town in southern Kerala. She is among the 300 women working at the MRF Shrimp Peeling shed, earning all of Rs 14 per day for skinning a kilo of prawns. She and her co-workers want a hike - just Rs 6 more per kilo - but they are not banking on the unions that represent them to fight this battle with the owners..."We have no faith in trade unions. We are inspired by the success of the Munnar women's agitation because we too are fighting for our livelihood," says Sughadev. More than 6,000 women from 250 other shrimp peeling sheds in the area have joined her in the strike..."Women workers were familiar with how unions functioned. The demands of women are often overlooked or subordinated by demands made by the organized male workers or by the male leadership of trade union.