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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROJECT
PROJECT TITLE: GARMENT INDUSTRY AND
WORKER’S HEALTH AND SAFETY MEASURES

SUBMITTED BY:
BATCH: 2020-23
NAME: Pawni Goyal
ROLL NO.: 2263
CLASS AND DIVISION: SY-C
SUBMISSION DATE: 30th October, 2021
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sr.no Title Page no.

1. Introduction 3

2. Indicators of forced labor 4

3. Working conditions in garment sector 6

4. Indicators of exploitation 8

5. Enforcement, grievances and worker representation 9

6. Conclusion 11
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INTRODUCTION

Roughly 14% of industrial output, 4% of GDP, and 27% of foreign exchange inflows of India
are dominated by the textile industry. After agriculture, it is the second-largest employer that
provides direct employment to over 45 million people. The textile industry is a major
contributor to the country’s economy and major employer in India’s cities. Over the last two
decades, it has evolved from primarily informal to formal, factor-based business which heavily
relies on labor inputs. The main readymade garment manufacturing centers are located in
Bangalore (Karnataka), Tirupur and Chennai (Tamil Nadu), and National Capital Region
(NCR). These centers employ over a million men and women. Northern NCR is dominated by
men, whilst women prevail in southern centers.

Even though India has a huge domestic market, yet readymade garment business is mostly
export-oriented. A vast amount of manufacturing is done for OCED markets. Both large and
mid-sized manufacturing enterprises form a part of the worldwide value chain. Business
strategies and practices are directly impacted by industry competition coming from both within
India and other Asian countries. Rules and regulations at the national and state-level bind
Indian manufacturers but they differ in competing countries.

This industry depends on labor for competitiveness and long-term viability. In a dynamic
economic environment, workers’ skills level, productivity and motivation, labor laws and
regulations, industry's capacity to attract and retain the right amount and quality of workers,
workers’ expenses and living circumstances, and others are very crucial. In emerging nations
such as South Asia where low-cost labor is critical for industry competitiveness. The garment
industry has been accused of labor abuse including long hours, forced overtime, and poor
salaries. In order to address these concerns, various state and non-state initiatives have been
launched. The main goal of those initiatives is to ensure that sector’s labor and other practices
are sound.

One example of such an initiative was The Garment Sector Roundtable. The goal of this
initiative was to develop a group that could examine differences, find common interests and
works together for systemic change in India’s garment sector. Some of the participants were
manufacturers, industrial groups, trade unions, etc.
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INDICATORS OF FORCED LABOUR

Information on the prevalence of indicators of forced labor and working conditions in the
textile industry is provided via the results of numerous surveys. The findings of the surveys
work as data for the development of a set of preliminary recommendations for various
stakeholder groups of the industry.

“Forced labour of adults is…work for which a person has not offered him or herself voluntarily
and which is performed under the menace of any penalty applied by an employer or third party
to the worker. The coercion may take place during the worker’s recruitment process to force
him or her to accept the job or, once the person is working, to force him/her to do tasks that
were not part of what was agreed at the time of recruitment or to prevent him/her from leaving
the job.”

The operational definition of forced labor has four main factors or “dimensions”. The first three
factors are concerned with lack of freedom of choice/consent at three stages of a work
experience: recruitment, employment, and termination. The fourth dimension that is coercion
(example- penalty) can be used on the worker during each of these phases. These elements are
explained in brief: -

1. Unfree Recruitment: When a third party imposes limits on workers, forces them to
work for a specific business or in a specific job or task against their will, it is known as
unfree recruitment. This is also called deceptive recruiting. A person recruited using
misleading promises concerning the location, nature, or conditions of the task to be
done is also included in this type of recruitment.

2. Work and life under duress: It is a situation where a person is forced to work or live.
“Work under stress” refers to work that is performed in excess of what is fairly
anticipated of a worker in terms of volume, time, or tasks. “Life under stress” can refer
to employees being subjected to difficult working conditions, restrictions on freedom,
or induction of excessive dependency by the employer.

3. Penalty or menace of penalty: At various stages of employment, the employer or

his/her representative may threaten or penalize the worker or his/her family members
in order to force them into or keep them in a job against their will.
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4. Impossibility of leaving: This ensures that a worker cannot leave their work at their
convenience or leisure. They are required to be subject to a reasonable and agreed-upon
notice period. It may include physical restrictions on leaving premises, such as armed
guards or sealed buildings. It may as well include financial consequences, such as lost
wages.
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WORKING CONDITIONS IN GARMENT SECTOR

PROFILE OF THE WORKERS

According to the various surveys conducted, approximately half of the current employees were
between the ages of 25 and 34. A quarter of the participants were under the age of 25, while a
fifth were 35 or older. There were no child laborers under the age of 15 and only two between
the ages of 15 and 17. In Bangalore, women make up the majority of the workforce, whilst
males make up the majority in the northern NCR. The vast majority of laborers had come from
somewhere else, primarily rural areas in the same or neighbouring states. Over half of the
respondents had outstanding household loans, with many owing between Rs. 50,000 and Rs.
100,000.

EMPLOYMENT STATUS

More than four out of every five workers claimed that they were unable to advance in their
careers because they lack the necessary skills or because there are no other job opportunities
accessible. 15% are contract workers were engaged by a third party; the majority were hired
directly by the employer. The vast majority of workers (more than two-thirds) had worked in
the garment industry for at least three years.

WORKER’S PERCEPTION OF GARMENT INDUSTRY

Reasons given for liking work in the RMG sector (current workers)
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Reasons for thinking of leaving the garment industry

Overall, a picture emerges of a workforce, including men and women, who enter and remain
in the garment industry mostly due to a perceived lack of better income-earning options.
Despite a high level of unhappiness with salary, working conditions, and output targets,
workers prefer to stay in the industry for a long time, with the majority staying between 3 and
10 years and moving factories at least once. Once employed, they have little career mobility
and frequently consider leaving. They usually have strained relationships with their bosses.
The reasons for those who say they "enjoy" their jobs – who still make up the majority of
current employees but only a small percentage of former employees – are primarily non-wage
factors like closeness to home and nice benefits and amenities. However, a sizable minority
dislikes working in the industry, and virtually everyone declares that they would not want their
children to work in this field and that they want better work for the next generation.
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INDICATORS OF EXPLOITATION

A. RECRUITMENT STAGE

Three-fourth of the workers claimed that they are required to work for more hours per day or
days per week than what was originally agreed upon at recruitment time. Because of this, there
is proof of dishonestly in the hiring process. No evidence of coercion has been found in
recruitment.

B. EMPLOYMENT STAGE

1. Contracts: Only about four out of ten existing employees had received a written employment
contract, and less than half of them understood it completely or partially.

2. Wages and working time: For nearly nine out of ten present workers, wages are always or
almost always paid "regularly and on time," while one out of ten is paid "occasionally" on time.

3. Penalties at work: For failing to reach output objectives or working the requisite overtime,
penalties are widespread, primarily in the form of verbal abuse and threats from the supervisor
or management; physical abuse and beatings were less common, but nevertheless prominent.

4. Other benefits: The majority of current workers are enrolled in social security programmes
such as the Employees' State Insurance (ESI) and Employees' Provident Fund (EPF), and half
of them have access to on-site health care.

5. Leave: The great majority of employees have the option to leave their company at any time
after a certain notice period, which is usually four weeks.

6. Threats and abuses: Only one-fifth of all current workers claim to have never witnessed or
heard any threats or abuses in their workplace. The most prevalent complaints were verbal
abuse, use of derogatory or insulting language, and scolding, followed by being forced to work
when sick, physical aggression, beatings, or having pieces of fabric hurled at them, and seeing
or being confined in the workplace. One out of every ten workers, but nearly one out of every
five women, report sexual violence or harassment. Workers of all sexes, but particularly
women, have been subjected to threats and punishments during the employment phase, as well
as working under pressure.
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ENFORCEMENT, GRIEVANCES AND WORKER

REPRESENTATION

Law enforcement, factory inspections and private audits

The Ministry of Labour and Employment (MOLE) and the labor department are working
alongside the readymade garment factories, in order to respond to labor law infractions. Some
of the main complaints received by the labor department included final payment at end of
employment tenure and charges of removal from premises forcibly. As per official responders,
the complaints regarding unfair dismissal, verbal or sexual harassment, or physical violence
were very rare. According to the NGOs, labor inspectors only visited the factory if there was a
worker complaint. But even if the labor inspector was in the factory, the workers almost didn’t
have the confidence to go and complain. NGOs believe that government labor inspections’ role
has shrunk, whilst private inspections have grown over time. The workers who have legal
documents such as an employment contract can only seek a remedy through courts but most of
the workers lack such formal documentation.

Grievance mechanisms

The findings of various surveys conducted show that 83% of the workers go to Human
Resource Department or to their supervisor in case of complaint or issue at factory. 10% of the
workers claimed they couldn’t do anything and 3% said they didn’t know what to do. A large
number of employees report to their boss. A few complaint channels available at the workplace
are Human Resources, worker’s committees, complaint or suggestion boxes, hotlines, and
others. It is often seen that supervisors try to dissuade employees from speaking up about their
issues. In light of this, the company encourages employees to approach management during
lunch hours and make an HR manager available at all times to listen to their grievances. Since
supervisors in different factories have good relations, women who complain in one factory
might be denied work in another. Due to the increased number of factories where their
supervisors don’t have any relations, it is easy for women to go and work. Employees who
earlier weren't able to bring up their problems to their bosses because they were hesitant can
now come up to their bosses with confidence to make demands and complain, all thanks to
trade union support.
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Worker representation

There is very little worker representation at the manufacturing level. Only 25% of the present
employees are aware of the worker’s committee or trade union at work. The percentage of
former employees’ knowledge about it was even lower. As per the results of surveys conducted,
only 11% of current employees and none of the past employees said they are members of these
committees. Union membership ranged from 4,000 workers in the north with outreach to 10-
20,000 workers; 7-8,000 of the 700,000 RMG workers in Bangalore; and 6,000 workers (85-
90 percent women) with outreach to more than 50,000 workers in Bangalore (also in the south).
Trade unions struggle to attract members when there is substantial anti-union sentiment and
workers fear to join the union. Gaining recognition and engaging in productive communication
with management is a difficulty for labor unions. A large number of companies/factory owners
say that their method of handling employee problems is appropriate and their worker
committees are effective and work towards handling grievances. Their main reason behind
avoiding unions is their political affiliations.
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CONCLUSION

It is clearly evident that workers are required to work for longer hours than stated in the
recruitment phase. There are proofs of fraud in regards to working time along with allegations
from workers. Since a vast number of workers do not receive a written formal employment
contract, there is no valid proof of terms and conditions of their job offer, because of this, the
employer tends to mould it according to his/her needs. The worst is those who even receive a
contract rarely fully comprehend it. Despite the fact that most of the workers are in debt to
moneylenders or pawnbrokers, there is no evidence of loans taken from employers, agents, or
anyone and therefore, no indication of bonded labor.

No barriers should be placed in way of forming or joining a worker’s organization as it’s the
worker’s right to organize and it should be safeguarded in practice. Factory management should
be aware of existing trade unions and should be willing to be involved in social dialogue and
collective bargaining with the workers. Workers just because they are a participant or a member
of the union should not be discriminated against. All the employers must allow workers to
resign as per their convenience, within the terms and conditions of their contract, and also pay
wages on time. Access to provident funds or other benefits should not be denied to workers if
they are going to leave the factory. In order to forfeit their claim to benefits provided, employers
cannot force somebody to resign against their will.