Special Economic Zones and the Exploitation Underneath

Abstract

Rampant violation of basic legal frameworks protecting labor rights in the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) is something not unheard of. The governments however, turn a deaf ear towards such violation and hardly use their authority to intervene, in exchange for providing the investors a tax free and liberal environment in the host countries. Be it minimum wages, or standard working hours, or the right to strike, or to form union, such violations within the SEZs all over Asia are widely reported, India being no exception.A cursory reading of the Special Economic Zone Act, 2005, does not ascertain if the labor laws governing India are the same as those governing the laborers working in an industry under the Special Economic Zone, until, on closer inspection it becomes evident that labor with the SEZs is subjected to a modified regime which aims at non implementation of any labor laws within the SEZs. Also, employers have come to use increasing quantities of contract or casual laborers, in addition to evading labor laws. The objective of the paper is to bring to the fore the underlying conflict between globalization and human exploitation, by delving into the legal aspect regarding violation of labor rights within the SEZs, right from restriction of Trade Union to banning of strikes, to the deprivation of minimum wages and inhuman working conditions and the exploitation of women workforce, on the backdrop of the SEZ Act 2005.