The beedi-rolling robots
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COMMENTS 
Despite being identified as a hazardous occupation, beedi-rolling remains extremely popular in India especially amongst women. But, hour after hour of rolling beedis (a big revenue earner for our country) takes a huge toll on the health of the beedi workers, many of whom live in unspeakable poverty
Even as the World Health Organisation carries on a relentless global campaign against the consumption of tobacco, little concern is exhibited about women beedi workers. These women, who sit in one position for ten to 16 hours a day rolling beedis, the indigenous cigarette, inhale huge amounts of tobacco dust.
Although beedi rolling has been identified as a 'hazardous occupation' by labour authorities, the health and working conditions of beedi workers has not been in the forefront of public consciousness. One of the reasons for this could be the lack of mobilisation among beedi workers themselves. Although the southern districts of Karnataka such as Udupi and Dakshina Kannada are advanced in other sectors, beedi workers eke out a living like helpless puppets amid unspeakable poverty, unemployment and hunger, unable to raise their voices.
"We are well aware that as beedi workers we are exposed to a variety of diseases. But as we are not qualified to do any other job, this work is unavoidable. We have no access to loans under the Village Development Programmes or employment schemes launched by the government. Only the rich and powerful have access to those funds. Under these circumstances, what can people like me do?" asks Rajasree, an outspoken beedi worker.
Social workers express their concern about the hazards of tobacco use and other health risks that beedi workers are exposed to, but for policy makers and the unions, health is lower on the agenda than economic issues. Not only is the beedi industry a big revenue earner in the country but beedis are also a popular export commodity and bring in large amounts of foreign exchange.
During the late '70s and '80s, the Nippani Beedi Workers' Union in north Karnataka waged a successful struggle for equal wages for beedi rollers. Studies being conducted by the Department of Women's Studies in Mysore University have found that even now the entire emphasis is only on getting better wages. Problems concerning the social, psychological and health aspects of these workers are still not being addressed.
The fact that beedi workers fall in the unorganised sector makes their struggle more difficult. The beedi industry has grown into a major industry over the years in Dakshin Kannada district. A woman worker earns an average of Rs 50 per day (1 US$ = Rs 47) for rolling 1,000 beedis. Working in beedi factories brings in extra money and supplements the family income. Working sometimes up to 16 hours a day, these women can earn about Rs 250 per week.
Beedi rolling is essentially a home-based industry and this too is an important factor that few recognise. "It is not just inhalation of tobacco dust that causes health problems for these women. There are other factors that affect their health -- like lack of nutritious food, clean environment and pollution. Working in a dark, ill-ventilated room affects their health adversely," says Selina of the Nagarika Seva Samiti, an environmental group in Mangalore.
"Only when our children are sick or when we have guests we don't work. But we lose Rs 40 per day if we don't work. So we make up for it by working for longer hours later. We stop working and go to sleep only when our backs begin to ache and we find it impossible to continue," says Marian of Ullal.
Given the acute state of unemployment, a section of social workers like Selina feel that instead of attaching the tag of 'exploitation' to this occupation, women's organisations should educate these workers in matters of health care, balanced diet and cleanliness.
The irony is that the women are not even aware that this work is ruining their health. It is difficult to imagine the extent to which one's health is affected by sitting with head bent in one position for hours together in a room with little ventilation, robotically rolling beedis. Years of this kind of work and a beedi roller will end up with as bad a lung condition as that of an active smoker and also make her more prone to diseases like tuberculosis, asthma and other diseases of the lungs. Ingesting tobacco also has adverse consequences on reproductive health, an issue that has not received much attention from the medical community.
Efforts are now being made to bring beedi manufacture in Karnataka under the purview of organised labour. In some other states, organised beedi workers are given a medical allowance, school-fees for the children and even a bonus. Every year they get a special allowance of Rs 200 to Rs 300. Each worker is given a pass book, which gives details of her earnings, receipts and other details. She can even avail of facilities like maternity benefits and provident fund.
"But a new problem has arisen with the provision of these facilities. Till recently beedi manufacturing units in north India, particularly the ones in Gujarat, used to hire women workers from here through their agents. The situation has changed now. Women had work for one whole week. But now to avoid paying bonus according to the number of days of work, they are given work for only two or three days a week. Since the mid-'90s, the beedi industry has been shifting outside the state of Karnataka," says Suresh Shetty of the Mangalore Association of Environmentalists.
And provision of some facilities has not meant the end of exploitation. "Of late, not only the work of rolling beedis but also labelling them is being done on a contract system. Agents hold back payment wherever possible and reject at least 50 to 100 beedis out of the 1,000 beedis that we roll in a day. He dilly-dallies in giving us our pass books and does not make the entries of payments," says Seeta, a beedi worker in Mangalore. Other shocking facts include the cutting of the maternity allowance by half if the baby is female.
Despite all this, these women prefer to work in the beedi factories rather than as agricultural labourers. For them the convenience of working at home, which saves them the effort of going out to work and also the money they spend on transport, is a major consideration.
The politics among the beedi worker's unions, and the focus on economising to the neglect of health and welfare issues, does not portend well for the future of beedi workers. Ironically, in Dakshin Kannada, a young girl who rolls beedis may have high value in the marriage market. But is anyone worrying about the state of her health in the years to come?
Women's Feature Service