Prior to the termination of the quota system, the factory owner had boasted that he had no problems because the factory had “enough orders”. But, the worker explained, “the tune was later changed”. The owner “convened a meeting at the beginning of 2005 to warn employees about the abolition of quotas and to call for quality and speedy work to retain buyers. He repeated the warning in the middle of the year.”
When November's wages were not paid by November 22, workers walked off. A small note was circulated among them, saying “[A]ren't you ashamed to work even though you have not been paid your due wages!”
“As a last resort, angry employees refused to return to the machines and boycotted work after lunch that day. However, because we had no program or organisation, the action could not be continued for more than a few hours. We only got the salaries on November 26.”
Tamil women from nearby tea estates were also coming to the factory because unemployment was acute in the plantations.
A single mother travelled 20 km by public transport from an estate area every day. Her income was not enough to pay for her daughter's education. By the end of each month she had to take out loans just to pay for her bus fares to get to work. “She continues to come, hoping for a better day,” the worker said.
He added: “Each worker has a production target to be finished by the end of the working day. If a worker cannot meet the target, she has to work overtime without any additional payment. If an individual worker fulfills her quota but the factory output has not achieved the target set for the day, all the workers have to work overtime without pay.”
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