After more than four days of protests, garment workers suspended their agitation on Tuesday and have given the management two days to examine their demands.
On Friday morning, more than 500 workers were shocked to see their factory, Shahi Exports, in Kaggalipura was shut. Since then, the protests have grown, and on Monday night, workers sat in front of the garment factory.
At 4 p.m. on Tuesday, after a meeting with the management of the factory, workers called off the protest. “We cannot do much since the company is shifting to Bommanahalli, which is allowed by law. But, we gave them a list of demands to ensure workers’ rights are protected,” said Prathiba, a worker and leader of the local union.
Among the demands is to reintroduce a company bus that would allow workers to travel to the new factory. The Kaggalipura factory, with around 1,500 women workers, had stopped company transport two months ago. This saw many, who used to travel from Ramanagaram and Maddur, leave work.
“We have also asked for a hike of ₹5,000 as we would end up spending more than two hours travelling,” said the workers.
Other demands include an assurance that protesters will not be targeted at the new factory, and a reduction of an hour in work timings to compensate for the longer travel distance.
The company has sought two days to respond to the demands. Based on this, workers suspended their agitation.