Workers of Gandhi Nagar market form union, win wage hike

Employers agree to the demand even after facing dip in trade

A worker carrying goods at Gandhi Nagar market in east Delhi. | Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA

They toil hard every day carrying heavy sacks to make ends meet. For the head-load workers of Gandhi Nagar market in east Delhi, considered the largest wholesale market for readymade garments in Asia, each rupee counts.

Recently, the workers formed a union, a first of its kind in the market, and voiced their demand for a wage hike and secured an increase of ₹5 to ₹10 for loading or unloading a sack of 100 kg or more. The workers will now get ₹45 to ₹50 for lifting each sack.

It was a group of young workers led by Noor Hasan, who hails from a family of agricultural workers in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district, that started organising the workers and formed the Delhi Pradesh Transport Karmchari Lal Jhanda Union.

‘Unchanged for years’

“This is the biggest textile market, but wages are much less than other markets in Delhi. Though there was a slight rise to retain workers during the lockdown, the wages remained unchanged for years,” Mr. Hasan, who is the union’s president, told The Hindu from his room in the market, where he stays with 15 other head-load workers.

The workers mostly hail from Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. The union announced a protest on September 13 with a nine-point charter of demands and by evening the same day, the employers decided to increase their wages.

Mr. Hasan said the wage hike was not their only demand. “We lift packets of 100 kg or more to the upper decks of trucks. Another demand is to bring uniformity in these packets so that they do not weigh more than 100 kg,” he said, adding that the negotiations with their employers will continue on this issue.

The workers said they themselves know their employers are going through a hard time and are happy with the wage revision.

Anil Yadav has been a head-load worker at this busy market for more than 20 years. Mr. Yadav, hailing from Khagaria in Bihar, is happy that he joined the union and got a wage hike. “There is a huge decrease in business in the market. But our employers agreed to increase our wages when we demanded. We are thankful to them and hope things will improve soon,” Mr. Yadav said.

‘Humanitarian grounds’

The employers said though they have been facing a lull in sales, especially after demonetisation, they decided to help the workers on humanitarian grounds.

A view of Gandhi Nagar market in east Delhi. | Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

“We have been telling the transporters and traders that it is high time that they increase the wages of workers. We told the workers that though we sympathise with them, they must also understand that the market is going through a crisis. Then we struck a middle path on the demand and the wages were slightly increased,” said Kanwal Kumar Balli, the president of the market.

Dull business

The Gandhi Nagar market, with a history of more than 50 years, houses about 15,000 shops and about 6,000 small scale household textile units, according to Mr. Balli.

“Our daily business is in crores and it is difficult to estimate its volume,” Mr. Balli said, but added that the last few years were tough for the business.

“There are a variety of reasons. The purchasing power of people has decreased both domestically and globally. Our exports are down. Transporters and workers are dependent on the trade and the trade is weak. The textile industry is not in a good shape,” Mr. Balli, who runs Neeraj Textile Hub in Krishna Gali of Gandhi Nagar, said.

Since the exports have declined particularly after the pandemic, the market is depending on domestic sales. “But the domestic market does not have the capacity to buy our products. Textile mills are affected as a result. Cotton producers are also in crisis,” Mr. Balli said, adding that the demand from countries like the United States and China are also low. “There is a big pressure on sales. Retail counters are also weak because the purchasing capacity of people has come down,” he said, demanding intervention of the government to boost the economy.

The industry has been demanding GST sops. “We are pinning hopes on the festival season. Market is slowly picking up. We hope that things will be better compared to the last two seasons,” Mr. Balli said, requesting the government to stop “put tax pressure” on them at this point.