SURAT, June 2: The district unit of the Rashtriya Mazdoor Sena, a trade union registered with the government, in a memorandum to the state chief minister has sharply criticised the exploitation of workers and labourers in the artificial silk and textile industries in the city and district. The RMS has sought the intervention of the chief minister to safeguard the interests of the labourers and punishing those involved in exploitation.President S K Gayakwad and general secretary Suresh Sonawane, in a letter addressed to the chief minister said that he should have visited the diamond and textile workshops of the city during his just concluded visit to the district. The office bearers, while welcoming the CM's call to increase production and productivity in these industries, added that something should also be done to ensure that the workers and manual labourers of these units get their due share of wages and rights.Drawing the CM's attention to the working conditions of the labourers, the office bearers said that while they are being forced to work between 12 and 16 hours per day, the wages being given to them were not adequate.Gayakwad stated that although the labour contract system had been abolished 11 years ago, the system was being followed in a majority of units and almost all workers, who were migrants from other states or those living in poor conditions, had to either follow the system or were fired if they demanded better working conditions. Top
