The Dindigul Agreement to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence and Harassment (Natchi Apparel and Eastman Spinning Mills) 

In January 2021, a young woman worker employed at Natchi Apparel factory in India was murdered by a male company supervisor. Natchi, owned by Eastman Exports Global clothing and whose recent customers included H&M, Authentic Brands, Walmart, and Marks & Spencer, is located in Tamil Nadu, a state in which gender-based violence and harassment has long been recognized to be pervasive. Following the murder, worker representatives and international advocacy groups launched a worldwide effort to expose the realities at Natchi and demand change. This work was driven by Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU), a women- and Dalit-led union, the Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), of which TTCU is a member, and Global Labor Justice. At the joint request of these organizations and some of the brands, the WRC investigated gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) at the factory. Our investigation found an atmosphere of pervasive GBVH at the factory, including two other likely cases where recent violent deaths of women workers appeared linked to their employment. 

In April 2022, TTCU, AFWA, GLJ, Eastman Exports, and H&M announced the agreements, which established a comprehensive program called the Dindigul Agreement to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence and Harassment, covering 5,000 workers employed at Natchi Apparel and Eastman Spinning Mills. PVH Corporation and Gap Inc. also signed similar agreements later in 2022. 

These agreements are binding and enforceable, requiring H&M, Gap, and PVH to condition continued business with Eastman Exports on its commitment to fulfill its obligations under the Dindigul Agreement. The agreements established a union-led program, which includes training for workers and supervisors, shop floor monitoring and remediation, and effective and impartial investigations of workers’ complaints, including the strengthening of India’s mandatory GBVH Committees or Internal Complaints Committees and establishment of an independent grievance mechanism overseen by third-party experts. The Dindigul Agreement also adopts global labor standards on GBVH as defined by the ILO Convention 190 on violence and harassment, as well as includes protections for the right to form and join unions and prohibits caste- and migration status-based discrimination. 

The WRC’s investigation of these abuses, and the subsequent agreements to combat and eliminate them, were the subject of this in-depth article in the Guardian.

More than two years into its implementation, Cornell University’s Global Labor Institute’s Progress Report of the Dindigul Agreement notes that it has “made significant progress towards eliminating, remediating, and preventing GBVH at the Natchi Apparel Factory and Spinning Mills operated by Eastman Exports.” The report further notes that workers trust the grievance process and that TTCU’s presence in the factory is a powerful monitoring mechanism. In a global garment industry in which gender-based violence and harassment is widespread, this program represents an innovative and effective response to prevent and remedy GBVH.