From meagre wages and harmful working conditions to sexual harrassment and abuse, the garment industry in India is not without its share of pressing problems
In January 2021, a young Dalit woman working in a factory manufacturing clothes for a fast fashion brand in Tamil Nadu was murdered by her supervisor following months of sexual harassment. In the last two years, garment workers in Karnataka are said to have been owed nearly $60 million in unpaid wages, according to the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC)–an independent labour rights-monitoring organisation based out of the United States.
India happens to be the fifth largest garment and apparel exporter in the world and these incidents highlight the harsh reality of the thriving industry. Garment workers are routinely exploited–from meagre wages to deplorable working conditions, sexual harassment and routine abuse–behind the scenes, there’s a huge hidden human cost.
With the rise of labour rights watchdogs such as the WRC, IndustriALL Global Union and online campaigns like #payyourworkers, are things changing? We try to investigate.
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Statista states that between March 2020 and March 2021, an estimated 721,000 people in the garment industry in India lost their jobs
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“It does take joint action with the Global North groups to get sufficient attention and action for brands,” says Thulsi Narayanasamy. Image: Getty
Fair pay
In April 2020, the state of Karnataka, a major hub for apparel production, raised the legal minimum wage rate. However, despite the rise, owners of garment factories from the state refused to pay their 400,000 workers the legal minimum wage. “The Indian factory groups knowingly broke the law despite having clear policies that mandate them legally owed wages. They thought they could get away with it because the brands sourcing from them care so little about human rights, that they don’t have practices that ensure that legally paid wages are met,” says Thulsi Narayanasamy, Director of International Advocacy at the WRC, who consider this to be one of the largest wage thefts in fashion history. The organisation ensured action was taken along with the Garment and Textile Workers Union (GATWU) and other labour rights groups.
“SUSTAINABILITY ONLY WORKS WHEN SEEN AS A WAY OF LIFE THAT ENCOMPASSES THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND HUMAN IMPACT—BOTH IN THE PRESENT AND THE LONG TERM”
Yash Dongre
In a landmark victory, the WRC managed to get some of the garment companies to pay back half of the $60 million owed. While GATWU had been challenging this for a long time and brought the case forward to the court, it wasn’t until an intervention by WRC that led to success of the claim. “It does take joint action with the Global North groups to get sufficient attention and action for brands,” adds Narayanasamy. “In this case, they simply didn’t respond to the local unions in India, and yet when there were interventions made by the WRC, we immediately were engaging directly with brands and getting the responses that we wanted, which translated into the pressure on the Indian factories,” she elaborates.
This is undoubtedly a huge win, but withholding the payment should never have occurred in the first place. This isn’t the first and, sadly, might not be the last of such an incident, but there has been progress.
For Harshad Daswani, owner of Fountainhead Exports—a manufacturer of sleepwear and beachwear for value-retail chains—the most important question remains: can the labourer run their home, family and health based on what they earn legally at Daswani’s factory? “Instead of focusing on a garment being 10 per cent recycled or 30 per cent sustainable, talk to me about how you’re treating your people. People are everything,” he says. His company is regularly audited by various bodies including the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) and the Sedex Members Ethical Unit (SMETA) which conforms to the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) base code that covers nine factors including wages, working conditions along with health and safety among others. “These audits work to monitor and hold factories accountable as per the factories to the local law of the nation,” he says.
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“Sustainability only works when seen as a way of life that encompasses the environmental and human impact—both in the present and the long term,”says Yash Dongre Image: Getty
The pandemic pandemonium
If low wages weren’t grim enough, the Covid-19 pandemic brought another set of problems—redundancy. In the case of Daswani, the company didn’t let go of all its employees. “We gave them a 50 per cent compensated monthly wage for three months in 2020 and two months in 2021,” he says. But even then, thousands were laid off as factories had to be shut down almost overnight.
A report by database tracker Statista states that between March 2020 and March 2021, an estimated 721,000 people in the garment industry in India lost their jobs. In June 2020, Bengaluru-based Gokaldas Exports, an export house that manufactures for fast fashion brands, let go of over 1200 workers—mostly women.
Prevalent anti-union sentiments
Unions are generally discouraged from operating in India. Among the workers fired from Gokaldas Exports were union members—an example of union busting. They were, however, reinstated later due to mounting pressure from the other members of the union.
Suhasini Singh, Regional Coordinator and Country Manager of Fair Wear Foundation, an independent, non-profit Dutch organisation, thinks brands should be encouraged to conduct business with suppliers who have unions. “This way you incentivise suppliers who have active unions. The representatives know best what workers want–be it wages or working conditions,” she says.
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Suhasini Singh thinks brands should be encouraged to conduct business with suppliers who have unions
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The textiles and apparel industry is India’s second largest employer. Image: Getty
Sexual harassment on the work floor
Women face sexual harassment regularly in the form of inappropriate comments, touching, verbal abuse and propositions. It took a murder of a 20-year old woman for the fast fashion house to sign a legally binding agreement to put an end to sexual violence and harassment against women at one of their Indian suppliers.
Singh shares an incident that took place at a factory where two female workers were molested by their supervisors. Upon filing a complaint, they faced further harassment and were eventually laid off. Even during audits, Singh explains that the workers are often told what to say during interviews. “Although most places have now started installing CCTV cameras as a way of deterring sexual harassment, it still doesn’t mean they’ve become sensitive towards it; just more aware,” she says.
Most training programmes involve teaching women how to recognise sexual abuse and what to do about it but that’s not enough, adds Singh. “It doesn’t include teaching their supervisors about being sensitive and respectful to the women. That does not address the real issue.”
Hoping for a brighter future
It’s worth looking towards Indian couture houses—both big and small—for a glimmer of hope. “Sustainability only works when seen as a way of life that encompasses the environmental and human impact—both in the present and the long term,” says Dongre. The luxury label puts its workers at the forefront to ensure their wellbeing with health insurance and retiral benefits. “We also have rewarding policies like long service awards, and financial support in case of medical emergencies, education for children or marriage,” he adds.
Karan Torani, founder and creative director of three-year old label Torani strives to do right by his workers. No one works above 12 hours in a day, he explains. “If there is a night shift, we get an entirely different set of people to do the job.” And when it comes to tackling overtime hours, he ensures employees are paid extra, provided with food and an additional break.
According to tech-led platform India CSR Network, the textiles and apparel industry is India’s second largest employer. Brands and suppliers are now under constant scrutiny by local and international groups making it more difficult to get away with unfair practices. “The ability of the international labour movement to organise and effectively respond has increased exponentially. So what we’ve shown is that factories and brands have nowhere to hide. We’re watching everything they do and we’re ready to respond,” says Narayanasamy.
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