When the Kochi Metro project took off with much fanfare in 2017, the media was agog with reports of the project throwing open the doors of opportunity for trans persons by offering them jobs.
In fact, Kerala credits itself as the first Indian state to introduce such a policy for transgender people.
These jobs offered by Kudumbashree for the upkeep of Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) were on a contractual basis. Still, it seemed to be a harbinger of good fortune, a leap-of-faith moment for the trans community, one of the most discriminated against in India.
Reality, sadly, was to prove grim.
The rapid transit company might have been the first government-owned entity in India to offer jobs (outsourced) for trans persons. But, out of the 21 trans people who joined KMRL at the time, only seven remain. The reasons for others falling by the wayside are many.
Their Metro tale
The daily wage paid to a housekeeper and ticket counter staff member was Rs 359 and Rs 388 respectively, after the deduction of PF and ESI. Every year, they were promised an increment of 5 percent. This has proven hardly enough as the trans persons have found it quite hard to find accommodations they can afford. They also have to deal with the burden of regular medical expenses. Although, at present, the salary has gone up to Rs 482 and Rs 520 respectively, life remains difficult.
How it began
The recruits were provided training in general knowledge, communication, and computer skills at Rajagiri College in Kalamassery, Kochi. They were then taken in as contractual employees under the Kudumbashree Mission (Kerala's poverty eradication and women empowerment programme). The hiring is handled by the Kudumbashree Mission. Those selected after training were posted to respective departments based on their educational qualifications.
Their travails
In the beginning, the Kudumbashree Mission arranged accommodation in Kakkanad. The place was difficult to access. With the limited frequency of city buses, the commute to and from Kakkanad to the different metro stations on a daily basis was tedious.
"Many chose to opt out of the accommodations due to the difficulty in commuting from Kakkanad," said Regina, the Kudumbashree Mission coordinator at the Kochi Metro.
It didn't help that there were no shelter homes in the city for the transgender community. Many don't have the support of their families as well. On most occasions, they are compelled to opt for accommodations that are beyond their means.
"The cost of living in a city like Kochi plus the expenses for our hormone treatments left us drained every month. My salary was hardly enough to pay off the debts I had run up as a result. I borrowed from friends. Eventually, I quit my job at KMRL," said Faisal, an ex-employee of Kochi Metro.
He was not alone. In fact, two others who joined KMRL (among the 21 others) quit in the very first week. One of them found the micro-aggression within KMRL unsettling.
"I joined the Metro hoping to change my life for the better. Every month, I used to have around Rs 9000 in hand after all the pay cuts. But after paying for rent, food, and hormone treatments (which cost between Rs 2000-3000 every month), I was left with next to nothing," Faisal elaborated.
Sweethy Bernad shared a different concern. "People were scared to be around me. They left when I walked into the room. I couldn't take it anymore. I left. Now, I work as a reporter with Jeevan TV. I am married and live a better life," she said.
Another ex-employee, Amirtha also quit the job because she like Faisal didn’t find the salary adequate. She later set up a small shop selling fruit juices in Kochi. With the help of Kudumbashree, she also puts up stalls when the self-help group conducts events across the city. Besides this, she also owns a farm where she rears lovebirds and rabbits.
The employees who continue to work in the Kochi Metro remain contractual employees.
"I have been working here for six years now. But I am still a contractual employee under Kudumbashree. I continue to work here in the hope that they would make me permanent one day," said Ragaranjini, a ticket counter staff at the Kochi Metro.
Having completed her M Com and Hotel Management courses, Ragaranjini worked as a General Manager at a hotel in Kanyakumari. Hotel management was her passion. But ever since she 'came out', she could no longer continue working there and had to quit the job. She couldn't return to Kerala either. "Back then, there was no visibility for people like us, in Kerala," she recounted. This was in 2010.
Ragaranjini then moved to Coimbatore with her friends from the transgender community and underwent a gender reassignment surgery. Post-2014, a wave of change swept over Kerala. Soon, the Kochi Metro began recruiting people like her.
A sociable person, Ragaranjini loves to work at the ticket counter of the Kochi Metro, where she gets an opportunity to meet hundreds of people every day. "There are some children who stare and ask their parents questions about me. That is okay, they are bound to ask, they are children," she says with a radiant smile.
It is hugely to her credit. Six years on, there are still no accommodation facilities or shelter homes for people like her in the city. Cabs are provided now, but they are few in number.
Kudumbashree again advertised job openings at the Kochi Metro’s ticketing counter and housekeeping departments for trans people recently. But, of the 20 people from the community who attended interviews for the same, none were promised a job.
"We applied and went for the interview on June 8, 2023. But they didn't give a positive response to any of us. Some of us were even told our attire wasn't appropriate," says Sheeba (name changed), one of the applicants.
Sheeba, an orphan who moved to the city eight years ago, is a sex worker. She used to work in the housekeeping department of a hotel for ten years until she revealed her gender identity and lost her job.
Now, she does sex work because she has no choice. All she wants is a respectable job. She has been applying to the Kochi Metro for three years now. Each time she was rejected.
In May 2023, Sheeba applied again. She was informed after her interview that she is 39 years old and the age limit for the job was 40.
"They asked me if I have the strength to lift a bucket if I join the housekeeping department. I have ten years of experience in housekeeping. I am not old. Now what should I do? Continue being a sex worker for the rest of my life? I can't. Every night, I cry. I am ready to even sweep floors. All I am asking for is a respectable job," Sheeba said.
There has been one positive development. The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) has allocated funds in its latest budget to build a hostel for trans persons, a first in the state.
"The objective of this hostel is to provide a safe haven for the transgender community in Kochi. The nitty-gritty of the hostel management will be handled by the Kudumbashree," confirmed K Chandran Pillai, GCDA Chairman.
But the fear is this outsourcing model could leave Kudumbashree Mission overburdened.
"Under Kudumbashree, we have other people also to take care of. If you ask me, as long as we don't keep the concerns of the transgender community separate from that of the other staff and address them, they won't be able to reap the benefits of any policy that's headed their way," Regina observed.
It certainly is food for thought.