A Brief Report on Sivakasi Fireworks Industries

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T I R U CH Y
PR O V I N C E
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A B r i e f R e p o r t o n S i v a k a s i Fi r e wo r k s I n du s tr i e s
A BRIEF REPORT ON SIVAKASI FIREWORKS INDUSTRIES
By
CAUVERI-Development Office, Tiruchy, Tamil Nadu, India.
LOCATION
Sivakasi, which is famous for fireworks and printing, is a Taluk1 in Virudunagar District2.
This Virudunagar District has 4,243 sq. km area with a total population of 1,751,548. The
nearest airport is Madurai, about 48 km. Sivakasi is 20 km from Virudunagar; 176 km
from Tiruchirapalli; and 495 km from Chennai.
Vital Statistics of Sivakasi
Area
343.76 sq.km
Population
196,082
Population density
905 / sq. km.
Sex ratio
1001 females / 1000 males
Urban population
66.26
Rural population
33.74
No. of families
63552
No. of families Below Poverty Line (BPL)
15818
Source: 2001 Census of India.
1
Taluk is an administrative division within a District.
2
District is an administrative division within the State (Tamil Nadu)
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Cauveri Development Office
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SIVAKASI
The nearby town Sivakasi has three major industries with a high potentiality for child labour
engagement in. (i) Printing (ii) Pyrotechnics (Fireworks) and (iii) Safety Matches industries.
Sivakasi and neighbouring Sattur Districts produce about 75 per cent of India’s matches.
These two industries are the major sponsors of child labour. Being an arid region, Sivakasi
is climatically suited for the fireworks and match industry. Additionally, in the absence of
adequate alternative employment opportunities in agriculture, labour, including child-labour,
is cheap. Fireworks and match industries are the only source of income for most of the
homes in and around Sivakasi and Virudhunagar District at large. Mostly women are
employed in these factories. Many male breadwinners had migrated to near by Thanjavur,
Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and Cuddalore Districts in search of jobs as load-men or construction workers. Many of the fireworks industry workers are former weavers and agriculturists and over 70 per cent of them are women.
FIREWORKS INDUSTRIES
About 90 per cent of India’s production of fireworks is at Sivakasi. For the employers the
business becomes a highly profitable one. The fireworks industry in Sivakasi is worth
between Rs.800-1000 crore. The market for fireworks is likely to grow at the rate of 10
per cent per annum. There are nearly 460 fireworks factories giving employment to about
40,000 workers. These units manufacture about 300 varieties of fireworks.
MATCH INDUSTRIES
The Sivakasi area accounts for almost all the fireworks and 75 per cent of the matches
produced in the country. According to an estimate there may be more than 500 match
works factories in Sivakasi.
Working Condition
The firework unit has many cubicles scattered in a
vast area. Each cubicle is a brick-walled room with
RCC roof or Tin-roof, and has eight doors two on each
side of the wall for easy exit. Usually four workers sit
on the floor on a gunny sack, nearby the door. But
during the peek months it is believed that more than
four workers are accommodated in one cubicle. Lavatory and water facilities are available within the campus of the unit.
Fireworks Unit- Cubicle Room
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In match industries, instead of cubicles, the workers sit
in rows in a big airy hall. In some units, each row is
divided by a low partition (1.5 feet high). Here, stocking the matchsticks inside the matchbox and packing
(small to big cartons) works are done. All the workers
are women. In some units, crèche is available to take
care of the workers’ children. The crowded factories
did not bother about safety precautions and accidents
in the fireworks and match works factories are common.
Women Working inside the Cubicle
Matches Unit – Women at Work
Home-Based
Illegal manufacture of fireworks containing substances that fall under the Class 7 category specified under the Explosives Rules 1983 are being created in residences, open fields, and roof tops in over
40 villages in and around Sivakasi. These illegal
home-based activities have the potential to cause
devastating accidents due to the inappropriate use
of explosive substances.
In October 1999, the Tamil Nadu Fireworks and
Amorces Manufacturers Association (TFAA) issued
Cracker Paper Roll Making at Home
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newspaper advertisements that fireworks manufacturing units no longer employed child labour and engaged anyone to locate child labourers in about 152
registered units. To get around the law, fireworks
manufacturing units in Sivakasi introduced changes in
the work pattern processes such as paper pipe-making were given out to contractors, who in turn hired
children to work for them or subcontracted the work
to households that employed children in large numbers. Increasingly, owing to the strict enforcement of
the law, the children work from their homes. As a
result, and because they are paid on a piece-rate baFinished Paper Rolls Stacked at Home
sis, the children end up working long hours.
In some interior villages, crackers are made at home for the local market. “According to
Laser, J, Secretary of the Sivakasi Unit of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), in
some villages, children are involved in loading flower pots, fixing the fuse, making paper
pipes, filling rings and making boxes – in short, in all the activities except that of mixing the
hazardous and poisonous chemicals”.1
Illegal Fireworks
The Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association (TANFAMA) sources
claimed that as many as 15 villages, including Vijayakarisalkulam, Thayilpatti,
Meenakshipuram, Ramalingapuram, Salvarpatti, and Vembakottai, had unlicensed units.
These units manufactured as much as half the quantum of fireworks produced by the over
630 licensed factories in Virudhunagar District, which had an annual turn over of Rs.350
crore. Nearly one lakh people depend on the unlicensed sector whereas the licensed
factories employ around 1.3 lakh persons.1 Many licensed units were unable to run to
their full capacity because of the shortage of manpower. Several workers had quit their
jobs after learning to make fireworks and turned to illegal manufacturing.
Wages
In all fireworks and match factories wages are fixed on piece-rate. The rate depends upon
the nature of work the worker is involved in. In an average a worker earns Rs.90 to
Rs.150 per day. For this they have to work from 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Sundays will be
3
Frontline, Vol.17-09, Apr.29-May 12, 2000.
4
The Frontline, “Danger Zone”, Vol.26, Issue 18, Aug.29-Sep.11, 2009.
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holidays. No wages are paid for holidays or leave. Regarding match industries, work
availability is throughout the year. Whereas, with regard to fireworks industry, it is more
seasonal and affected by the climate variation. During rainy seasons and 3 to 4 months
after Deepavali festival, the fireworks units remain closed. During which time, the workers
did not get any wages. They go for some other work. There is no job security in these
industries. Temporary workers could be laid off at will. One of the reasons why labourers
switched to the illegal sector was the inadequate wages offered by the contractors attached to the licensed units.
THE PROBLEMS
Child labour in Fire Works
According to J. Lazer, Secretary of the Sivakasi Unit of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions
(CITU), in some interior villages, crackers, “flower pots” and “Zameen chakkars” are made
at home for the local market. According to him, children are involved in loading flower
pots, fixing the fuse, making paper pipes, filling rings etc.
A CHILD WHO SPENDS EVEN PART OF THE DAY WORKING,
INSTEAD OF GOING TO SCHOOL, REMAINS UN(DER) EDUCATED AND IS CONDEMNED TO BADLY PAID JOBS
In villages across the district – Thiruthangal,
Ammapettai, Alamarathupatti, Thayalpatti,
S.Anaikuttam, T.Ramalingapuram, Kottaiyur,
D.Duraisamypuram, Viswanatham, Meenakshipuram,
Sankaralingapuram, and Meenampettai – children continue to work in – or for – fireworks-making units.1
The 1991 Census of India put the number of child
workers in Sivakasi in the 6-14 age-group at 30,000.
In 1994-95, a State Government study sponsored
by the United Nations Children’s Fund put the figure
at around 33,000 (of whom 30,000 were employed
in the match industry and 3,000 in the fireworks industry) – mostly in illegal fire/match works facilities.
5
Boy Working in a Fireworks Unit
Frontline, Vol.17-09, Apr.29-May 12, 2000.
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villages, children are making even cracker fuses, a process which involves handling hazardous and poisonous
chemicals, including sulphur. Around 40 per cent of all
matches are made in 6,000 cottage units, which often
mean families working in homes. No laws can effectively prevent parents from making little boys and girls
work at home. Children are in an “all-work-no-play”
situation.
Children at the Fireworks
Truncated Education
The children, even if they attend school, take up the work whenever they are at home.
This deters their education and performance at school and examination which becomes a
pretext for withdrawal from school. Since children are at work rather than in school, they
grew up with greater constraints and fewer prospects for decent work. Child labour tends
to exacerbate the problem of youth employment in this District in so far as it prevents
children from acquiring the needed education and skills to compete on the labour market
as young adults. Recently, surveys show, parents force their little children into hazardous
jobs for reasons for accumulation of added luxury than poverty as earlier. On the other
side Illiterate and ignorant parents do not understand the need for wholesome proper
physical, cognitive, and emotional development of their child. They are themselves uneducated and unexposed, so they don’t realize the importance of education for their children.
And when a family has to make a choice between sending either a boy
or girl to school, it is often the girl who loses out.
Health Related Problems
Asthma, and TB are prevalent among 90 per cent of the workers who are involved in
gunpowder filling and are directly in contact with the chemical ingredients of crackers and
matches. These workers usually do not wear any protective clothes and their whole skin
can be seen covered with the chemicals such as sulphur, aluminium powder and gunpowder. “Snake Tablet” – one type of firework, which uses nitric acid, causes skin diseases.
Working on this type of firework is considered to be highly dangerous for the workers.
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Transportation
Many villages in and around Sivakasi are not connected by any mode of transport services.
Students bi-cycle the entire distance of up to 12 kms to their schools. Poor roads and the
absence of any transportation services poses another problem in transporting the injured
to hospitals. People with burn injuries had to be sent to Madurai (75 km), because the
facilities available at the government hospitals in the District were inadequate to treat a
large number of such patients.
Accidents
“In a desperate attempt to improvise and meet the demand for light over sound, the
Sivakasi fireworks industry has been experimenting dangerously, trying new processes and
chemical combinations, which the workers are not used to. The industry is experimenting
with high-risk chemicals such as potassium chlorate and potassium per-chlorate, which are
vital ingredients of Chinese crackers, whose emphasis is on aerial display. Unregulated
experiments are leading to accidents, many of which go unreported”.1 A wrong combination of Potassium nitrate can result in a catastrophe affecting the whole neighbourhoods.
Some of the unregistered units operate in the night hours in violation of rules as electric
sparks could trigger accidents.
In 1981, a major accident at Aruna Fireworks at Mettupatti killed 32 workers, including
women and children. Over the years, there were a series of other fatal accidents, which
exposed the hazardous nature of fireworks manufacture and the risk that the workers,
particularly the children, were subject to.2
Tragic details
Year
Accidents
Killed
Injured
2001-2002
7
7
31
2002-2003
7
3
3
2003-2004
18
7
18
2004-2005
27
38
31
2005-2006
24
20
27
Source: Chief Controller of Explosives, Nagpur
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Arun Ram, Daily News and Analysis, October 29, 2005.
7
The Frontline, Issue 09, April, 29 – May 12, 2000.
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“Manager of a registered factory said every year new
combinations and varieties were introduced by big units
to meet competitions, but the workers were not properly trained to handle them”.1 Between July 20 and
August 03, 2009, five fire accidents, including three in
registered fireworks units, have taken place in the region, also known for its off-set printing and match industries, killing over 43 people and injuring many others – four of the six units where the blasts took place
were in the licensed sector.1 The introduction of Chinese pyrotechnics without the required specialised training was also cited as one of the reasons. On the medical management of the injured, industry sources said
there was no special ‘burns ward’ at both Virudhunagar and Madurai Government hospiAccident Site at Anuppankulam in
tals.
Sivakasi
Six persons including five women were killed and 22 persons (19 women + 3 men) injured
in a blaze at a fireworks factory in Anupankulam village near Sivakasi on July 02, 2005.
Out of the 48 working sheds in the premises, 10 collapsed and 32 were partly damaged
The Vadakkampatti accident at V.B.M. Fireworks exposed employment of children in factories and that too during nights. Nineteen people including three students died in the accident. Local people agreed that many children used to work in the factory after school
hours or on holidays. The accident took place around 7 p.m. . The blast at Sri Krishna
Fireworks in Namaskarithanpatti on July 20 claimed 18 lives. Three workers were killed in
the mishap at Anil Fireworks in Keezha Tiruthangal village on july 28 and one died in an
accident at Classic Fireworks in Meenampatti on August 3.
All three were licensed units Accidents at two units in the
unlicensed sector, at Vetrilaiyooranai and Viswanatham, in
July snuffed out two more lives. The blast at Viswanatham
brought down the tiled roof and sidewalls of a temporary
shed, which was involved in the illegal manufacture of fireworks.
July 20, 2009 Accident Site in Sivakasi
Zeenews.com, “Erring Fireworks Units in Sivakasi to Come under Police Scanner”, July 31,
2009.
9
Frontline “Danger Zone”, Vol.26, Issue, 18: Aug 29 – Sept 11, 2009.
8
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Many reasons, according to Frontline report, has
been attributed for these mishaps: negligence on
the part of workers; incomplete skill up-gradation
for colour pellet manufacture; lack of effective supervision; minor violations owing to bunching of
demand/supply orders before Deepavali (A Hindu
festival); and the weather conditions such as heat,
the velocity and direction of wind, and the humidity
during the months of July to August contributed to
the blasts.
July 07, 2009 Accident: Grieving Parents and Sister
According to a report in the Frontline dated April, 29 – May 12, 2000, by M. Mahalakshmi,
General Secretary of the Match and Fireworks Union, some units operated out of residences, with the entire family, including children, contributing labour. There were agents to
supply raw materials to these units and procure the finished goods. Accidents occurred
every now and then as these units threw caution to the wind. In some houses, cooking
was done in one corner of the same room where finished goods or raw materials were
stored. There have been instances when a spark from the stove proved fatal.
INTERVENTIONS BY DON BOSCO AT SIVAKASI
Don Bosco House (“Anbu Illam) is at Alangulam, a Panchayat town in Sivakasi Taluk.
“Vidivelli” (The Morning Star) is a Don Bosco Institution, functioning since 1993 at Alangulam
(about 10 km from Sivakasi) of Virudunagar District in South Tamil Nadu State in India.
The Salesians of Don Bosco creatively and daringly respond to the signs of times by opting
to work for the cause of the child labourers, dropouts, and the marginalized poor people.
ACTIVITIES

Parish

Boarding Home for boys

High School and Primary School

Self-Help Groups for women

Dropout Prevention Centre

Evening Study Centres
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INTERVENTION

Child Labour elimination through dropout prevention and evening study centres

Cultural groups to create awareness on the prevention of child labour

Job placement cell

Social awareness creation
CONTACT ADDRESS
Don Bosco – “Vidivelli”
P.O. Box No.1
Kalavasal
Keela Raja Kularaman Post
Virudunagar District 626 136
Tamil Nadu, India.
Don Bosco Dropout Prevention Centre
Don Bosco Dropout Prevention Centre was inaugurated in 2005 by the selfless imitative of
Rev.Fr.Amaladoss. Again in January 2008 a new building was constructed with all necessary infrastructures with a capacity to accommodate, care, and educate more than 50
students. This dropout centre serves as a transition centre for the poor dropout students,
who discontinued due to various reasons. This Dropout Prevention Centre educates the
poor dropout students of the surrounding villages and reenrols them into the regular academic stream.

Two batches are organized during the year.

About 50 to 75 dropouts are being educated.

The 1st batch from the beginning of June to October

The 2nd batch from the beginning of November to April.

Holistic formation is provided through the Salesian way of education
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Motivation programmes are organized to motivate them to study/Media awareness
is created through the animation programmes by watching and holding discussions on
films and short films

Frequent seminars are organized to help them choose a better carrier in the future.

Regular competitions and cultural programs are organized to improve their talents
and skills.

After the final exams, short-term courses are conducted for both the batches in
which boys and girls are taught basic skills in computer, typing, music, and spoken English.

4 or 5 days of intensive cultural training is provided. At the end of the training
program boys are taken to different villages to organize the awareness promotion programs on current social issues.
Evening Study Centres
Evening Study Centres (supplementary education) are being run in the following 8 locations with 340 beneficiary children and 8 teachers. These centres function only in the
evening and after school hours and provides special coaching in their respective subjects.
These centres prevent children being employed after the school hours. Since lack of
learning skill is also one of the factors of dropout from schools, these children are taught to
improve their learning skills and helped in scoring good marks in the examinations.
S.No Name of the Village
No. of Beneficiary Children
No. of Teachers
1
Appayanayakanpatty
52
1
2
T-Mettur
51
1
3
Duraisamypuram
45
1
4
Kalavasal
35
1
5
Kottamadakipatty
36
1
6
Melanmarainadu
48
1
7
Pazhayapuram
34
1
8
Vedha Muthu Nagar
38
1
Total No. of Children
339
8
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Academic Education
Don Bosco runs two regular academic educational institutions at Melanmarainadu, about 2
km from Sivakasi and a boarding for the boys studying in these two institutions.
R.C. Primary School at Melanmarainadu: This primary school has classes 1 to 5, mostly
serving the marginalized community of this Sivakasi Taluk. About 108 students (both boys
and girls) are enrolled this academic year (2010-2011).
St. Antony’s High School at Melanmarainadu: This is a high-school with classes 6 to 10.
About 800 students (both boys and girls) are studying here
Boarding for Boys
Boarding facility is provided only for boys. About 80
students are being accommodated per academic year.
Distance between the school and their residence is one
of the factors of school drop-out. The absence of transportation increases the chances of drop-out. Indirectly,
the boarding facility serves in reducing drop-out rates.
They are given special coaching to improve their learning skill.
Women Self-Help Groups
St. Antony’s High School
Women self-help groups are formed with 10 to 15 members in a group. Till date Don Bosco has formed about
25 such women self-help groups. Regular income-generation trainings and contact programmes are organized
for the members. These members also take part in
awareness creation programmes.
Animation Programme for Self-help Group Members
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Regular Awareness Programmes
Regular awareness promotion programmes are being organized in different locations on
various current social issues. Awareness themes such as, Child labour eradication, HIV/
AIDS prevention, Health & Hygiene, Environment and pollution, Child Rights, Human Rights,
Importance of girl child education, Tree plantation drives, and observations of International
Days are regularly organized.
Future Plans
1. Don Bosco Dropout Centre has plans to accommodate and educate the 11th and
12th Std. students, studying in the nearby schools and provide them with educational
facilities.
2. To form more women self-help groups towards women empowerment
3. To start programmes to enhance the employability of the dropout children through
additional vocational skill training (like, Tailoring, Computer Education, et.)
Map Showing Virudunagar District in Tamil Nadu State
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Map showing the location of Sivakasi and the Don Bosco House at Alangulam
CONCLUSION
Don Bosco House
According to the Chairperson, Global March against Child Labour, India has already missed
the targets of gender parity and covering all children aged 6-14 in schools by year 2005.
Studies reveal that child labour is primarily an outcome of poverty and uneven development. In Sivakasi and the surrounding locations the children, women, and men are working with hazardous materials endangering their lives and their future of their family. Illegal
fire and match works are more prone to accidents and the irony is that the victims are
deprived any compensation since the units are illegal. Only the government efforts could
not solve their problem. A holistic development plan should be evolved targeting the
children in these families with a long-term objective of improving their standard of living
through academic/skill education, awareness promotion activities, and women empowerment.
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A Brief Report on Sivakasi Fireworks Industries

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