ગુજરાતી
English
Fight for labor liberation once again in Gujarat
Labor laws have been converted into slavery laws in the constituency of the country’s Labor Minister Mansukh Mandaviya
Special for India’s Independence Day, August 15
Dilip Patel
Ahmedabad, August 14, 2025
The tricolor of August 15 is printed in good colors in Jetpur. Underneath it lives the slavery of child labor. The saffron flag of the Sangh and BJP is also printed here. Where 3 thousand children are living in the slavery of working 18 hours. They live a life like prisoners. They are not allowed to go out of the factory. Food is not given regularly. Children are given 1 thousand to 3 thousand rupees per month, which is fixed with the contractors, but in many cases it is not given. Even after 75 years of independence, they are living in slavery.
BJP’s Sangh leader and Narendra Modi’s favorite labor minister Mansukh Mandaviya is a Lok Sabha member from Jetpur constituency. Child laborers are slaves in his own constituency. BJP MP from Porbandar Mansukh Mandaviya comes from the Sangh. Sangh’s policy is being implemented on children here. The Sangh did not want India’s independence. Now they are making them slaves again. The poor do not have the freedom to live well here. There is no difference between 15 August 1947 and 2025. Earlier the British used to exploit, here our public representatives and citizens are exploited by servants. There is no freedom of work or money here. There is no republican state here. A slave state government is working here. The MLA here is Jayesh Vitthal Radadiya. It is his direct responsibility to ensure the implementation of labor laws. Citizens have elected him here.
15 August is celebrated to commemorate India’s independence from the United Kingdom. On this day, the Indian Independence Act 1947 came into force and the Indian Constituent Assembly recognized legal sovereignty.
3 thousand child slaves
2 to 3 thousand innocent, helpless and destitute children from outside the state are subjected to inhuman torture and are made to work 12 to 18 hours a day. They are forced to work hungry and thirsty. How right is it to make poor, helpless and destitute children do child labor? Is this our dynamic Gujarat? Child slaves.
90 percent of industries make child laborers malnourished.
If the authorities do not have information about child labor, then Sadbhavana Shramik Sangathan provides information about their location.
Many laborers are dying due to accidents while working. There is no record of their death in the government office, nor is there any explanation for their death. Local politicians and police always try to suppress the matter.
What is the work of children?
In the Jetpur factory, children are made to work at a faster pace than women or men. So, by getting products at a lower price, the billionaire owners of Jetpur can compete with the world and make more profits.
The children are made to pack sarees, tie sarees, iron sarees and put sarees in boxes, etc. Children can do the work of putting sarees in boxes quickly and efficiently. Which women cannot do.
The children are made to work beyond their capacity. Every child is in a miserable condition.
They are kept in the factory 24 hours a day so that no one can see them. They can go out even in the dark of the night. Even on holidays, child labourers cannot go out. This is done to prevent theft. During Covid, children were kept in factories.
Children are brought from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal and Rajasthan. There are contractors for the children. They drop off entire buses full of children in Jetpur at night. Children are not brought from outside during the day. Child labourers are sent to designated factories in the dark of night. The practice here is similar to the slavery system in Africa.
When raids are conducted by NGOs, children are left on the streets of Jetpur. During the raid, the children keep wandering on the streets. The child does not know the name or address of the factory. Therefore, they do not get a job again.
There is an agreement with the child labourers to send 1 to 3 thousand rupees per month to their parents in Bihar or Bengal. But the parents of many children are not given even this amount. In many cases, they do not get salary for six months. Many times they are also physically exploited.
There are contractors to bring labourers and get them to work. They bring small children, get them to work. The officials do not conduct raids. Whenever NGOs force the authorities to conduct raids, a crime has to be registered against the factory owner. Instead of registering a crime against the child labour contractors, the owner of the saree factory is saved by registering a crime against him.
250 to 300 children were rescued in the year 2024. The children are handed over to the police station. The police send them to Rajkot Bal Griha.
Labor leader Bharatbhai and the office bearers of his organization had observed a symbolic fast for 21 days in 2015 to implement the labor law. The labor law was not implemented.
The factory does not have safety equipment. The families of the workers are not given compensation when a case is registered. The industrialists do not maintain registers related to labor registration. One and a half lakh workers work in all sectors. The government itself shows only 1946 workers here.
Fake factories
The factories run on rubber stamps. Officials do not reveal the names of the factories. A factory has 3 to 4 names. So it is not proved that any crime has been committed. Officials protect it and impose fines or register a crime against the fake factory. The real owner escapes. Officials investigate but take no action. They register a case against the contractor. But accuse the owner of the saree factory of the crime.
This is not done. If a crime is registered against the owner, child labour can be eradicated.
The raider signs his visit book and leaves and reports that there are no workers in the factory. But the next day, if the NGO raids, children are found.
The factory runs only on paper.
Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is the MP here. Child labour is exploited there. Child labourers live like slaves in his constituency.
This is a deaf, dumb and blind government. Alia’s cap is put on Malia. When a complaint is made in Gandhinagar, the factory inspector is informed from there, but he gives a negative report.
Despite complaining to the Human Rights Commission, no action has been taken. Complaints have also been made to the High Court and the Supreme Court, but justice has not been received from the court.
35 thousand workers
There are 35 thousand workers working directly in the factory here. 300 to 400 rupees per day. No slips are given to the workers.
Make registration of every factory compulsory. Implement labor laws. If a worker’s hands or feet are cut off, there is no compensation. No hospital. No treatment.
Allegations
They exploit workers on the strength of political influence and money power. They have connections with political parties. There are allegations of giving money to leaders. MLA Jayesh Radadiya is there. He should respond to these allegations by conducting raids. BJP leaders are killing humanity.
Shramik Card
The state government had appointed Bharat Ratoja to issue Shramik Cards to the workers. When he went to each factory for registration, he was not allowed to enter. When he complained to the collector, there was no cooperation. But Bharatbhai had issued 4 thousand Shramik e-cards outside Jetpur.
Pride of the country, but also shame
The saree industry of Jetpur in Rajkot is world famous. It has become the pride of the country. There is a huge demand for cotton screen print sarees and garments in the country and abroad. Sarees are sold from Rs 120 to Rs 35,000. There is a demand for cotton garments. People are also sold in the city of colours. Here the workers are exploited 100%. Child labourers are made to work for 18 hours. Here even the tricolour flag of good coloured cotton cloth is printed in three colours. Here a new avatar of child labour and its slavery has emerged under the national flag. The country’s shame is hidden beneath the pride of the country.
Modi’s turban is saffron in colour, but there is talk that the turban will turn red because humanity is being murdered here. Labour organisations have written letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeatedly, but the saffron colour of Jetpur’s turban does not fit into their patriotism.
3 thousand factories
3 thousand dyeing and printing units. 50 lakh metres of cloth is dyed daily. It is believed that the dyeing business here is worth Rs 700 crore daily.
Textile dyeing and textile printing are the main industries here. Apart from sarees, clothes, dresses, bandhani are also quite popular. The colour and quality are excellent. 2 thousand more units are for dyeing.
Canal Janes had called Jetpur the capital of Saurashtra. Jetpur has already been a pioneer in the textile industry. Textiles and other items were traded by ships in Jetpur’s Bhadar river up to Kutiyana.
7 textile parks are to be built, in which the industrialists of Jetpur demand that a cotton textile park be allotted to Jetpur.
Clothes
Luggi, turban and African clothes are made. There are khago and kitanga. Grey cotton and white cotton out of which white cotton is purchased from Paragathu i.e. Gujarat. White cotton comes from Tamil Nadu. High quality grey cotton is purchased from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Fabric for printing comes from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh etc.
Employment
This is a big center of employment. People of Jetpur and its 52 villages and outside it get employment directly or indirectly. 25 thousand workers from Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan etc. work here. Jetpur has the highest daily employment in Gujarat. 30 to 35 thousand people are employed in 1800 factories. The goods and workers in these factories mostly come from other states.
Government corruption
Only 58 factories and 1946 workers are listed in the office of the Industrial Safety and Security Department of Rajkot district. The remaining 2942 factories are not registered.
2048 factories are registered in the tax collection branch of Navagadh Municipality of Jetpur. 2500 factories are registered in the office of Gujarat Pollution Control Board.
A total of 1946 workers work in factories under the Factory Act.
Injustice and atrocities are taking place. 6 office bearers of Sadbhavna Sari Udyog Sangh had sought permission for euthanasia.
Missing workers and factories
35 thousand workers are unregistered in 90% of the factories of Jetpur city and taluka. Their names are missing. The factories of the sari industry are not registered. Due to the miracle of the officials, a lot of workers are missing.
Factories are missing.
There is corruption of crores of rupees. Workers are being tortured. Political protection is available. If registration is done, workers can get their basic rights and entitlements. These people are pushing the workers to the brink of death.
A committee should be formed and CBI Crime Branch and Income Tax Department should also be included in this investigation.
Murder of workers’ rights
Workers are deprived of many benefits like their basic rights, entitlement, security.
Workers are completely dependent on workers. Many benefits like attendance sheet, bonus, medical, PF, weekly leave, overtime are not given.
The license of Industrial Safety and Health Department should be made mandatory. So that the safety and future of the worker is secure. (Google translation from Gujarati)
