Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore   

Garment factory workers deserve a better deal

By Sahana Charan

BANGALORE Sept. 27. Gangamma's (name changed) hands are burnt and sore with hours of ironing in a garment factory. But there is neither respite from the back-breaking work nor from nagging superiors, as she has to take care of her family.

Sita (name changed) had a miscarriage when she was six months pregnant as she was overworked. A "trimmer" in a garment unit, she had to stand and work for more than eight hours a day.

There are many such cases within the four walls of the garment-manufacturing units in the city. Workers, mostly women, are paid low wages and mentally tortured by supervisors and production managers.

Women have to stitch 120 shirts or jeans per hour and any small error invites abuse and a salary cut. A garment worker in Bangalore gets a meagre Rs. 8 per hour. Some units do not even pay minimum wages. Though some of these units do follow labour standards laid down by the Government, most of them do not care for their employees.

"If we are late by two minutes, the factory gates are slammed on us and we are asked to come the next day. Our wages for that day are cut. If a worker takes leave due to an emergency, she is told to report back after a week, so that she is not paid wages. To harass the worker, she is often given work which she is not used to," says Parvathamma (name changed).

The garment industry employs possibly the largest number of women in the State. A majority of the employees work in factory settings. However, the absence of trade unions in this unorganised sector encourages unfair labour practices and abusive behaviour by superiors. "Participation in any union activity is used against a worker and she may be dismissed. The production managers in connivance with local musclemen keep the workers `in control'. It is almost like bonded labour," a representative of an NGO working with garment factory workers told The Hindu.

According to official statistics there are 788 garment manufacturing units in Karnataka, of which 729 are in the city. The total number of garment workers in Bangalore units is 1,46,835 of which 1,03,039 are women. But the numbers are much more as casual and contract workers are not accounted for.

Sanjeev Kumar, Labour Commissioner, said: "It is not possible to check all industrial units as there are only 200 labour inspectors. Checks are done on the basis of complaints. Many times, workers also do not come forward to give evidence, so it becomes difficult for us. However, most garment units here are export oriented and these companies implement strict international labour standards."

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