Rukmini VP, President, Garment Labour Union (GLU), has been honoured with the 17th Bremen Solidarity Award.
Bengaluru-based GLU, a women-led union, has been working to protect the rights of workers in the garment sector in Bengaluru and across Karnataka.
The award carried a purse of €10,000 and a sculpture by Bremen artist Bernd Altenstein. It was presented by Andreas Bovenschulte, Mayor of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, during an event held in the upper town hall in Bremen.
While receiving the award, Rukmini said, “Global brands have failed to address the fundamental issues of precarious work, informalisation, poor wages, gendered violence, lack of access to remedy and freedom of association in garment factories worldwide.”
She further added that it’s encouraging and restores our faith to continue the work we are doing. I accept this award on behalf of all garment workers, union activists and all supporters of workers.
“We are proud of her commitment as a strong feminist activist, standing up for the rights of textile workers for over twenty years. The prize expresses our solidarity and recognition of her courageous commitment. At the same time, the award is a political signal to international companies with global supply chains to practice due diligence,” GLU said.
Previous winners of the award include Nelson and Winnie Mandela (1988), Aung San Suu Kyi (1994), Sumaya Farhat-Naser (Palestine) and Gila Svirsky (Israel) in 2003.
