DISHA

Leaves of Life :
Timru Leaf Plucker women proceeding towards home with plicked leaves

As the first organization that Disha started, the Gujarat Forest Produce Gatherers and Forest Workers Union has a long history of struggling for the rights of tribal peoples. In early 1986, the tribals of Panchmahal and Sabarkantha districts whose work was impacted by the Forest Department organized themselves to form a union in order to fight back against their exploitation. Tribal labor has been used for Tendu leaf (the leaves used in bidi cigarettes) plucking, as well as gardening and security for the Forest Department. The main office is located in Ahmedabad, and has grown to cover most of the state. Their a are sub-centers in Limkheda (Dahod district) and Himatnagar (Sabarkantha). The main activities of this union include organizing diverse types of laborers working in the forest setting, processing complaints of these workers related to non-payment of wages or under payment of wages, compensation against accidents, nonadherence to the Minimum Wages Act, regularization of forest workers employment in light of a long history of work, fighting cases in the Industrial tribunal and other courts of law, representations to make bureaucratic and policy changes, other socio economic issues.

Total annual Membership of Union is 2,500 in 2003.

DISHA won its eight year battle against the state for regularization of long-serving forest labour in an historical supreme court decision. Thus far, 183 labourers have had their employment regularized and have been paid wages amounting to Rs. 18.5 million.

DISHA successfully mounted pressure on the Forest Department to recruit beat-guards from long time casual forest labourers rather than from outside; 350 members of the Forest Labourers Union now enjoy Class II permanent status and are compensated Rs. 5600 per month.

Persistent campaigning for a grievance redressal process led the Forest Department to hold a quarterly meeting where complainants, union representatives, forest officials and the Deputy Commissioner of Labour resolve cases of nonpayment or less payment of wages, arbitrary lay-offs, reinstatement, etc.

Over the last two Timru leaf plucking seasons, DISHA has helped the women labourers fight for a Rs. 2.5 increase in the collection rate yielding a Rs. 7.5 million collective profit for 1 lakh labourers. The women are now more sensitized about trader’ exploitation of their labour.

DISHA has begun its first phase of insuring labourers against accidents. Thus far 750 forest labourers have been covered.