Child-and-adult-labour-in-the-export-oriented-garment-and-gem-polishing-industry-of-India

APPENDICES
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Appendix 1
Research questions and child labour questionnaire
I Research questions
A. Questions concerning (child) labour
General
- What are the actual labour conditions 194 of labourers (men and women) who are working in
the garment and gem industry? What are the official labour standards according to the Indian
government and the ILO Conventions 195 ?
- Which part(s) of the relevant Labour Act and/or other relevant acts are violated by employers?
- Are the Indian (Labour) Acts adequate? If not, which amendments should be made?
- Does the government check the employers on compliance with the Labour Acts? If not, why?
- If employers do violate relevant Labour Acts, then why are they not prosecuted?
- Are there labour unions 196 ? If not, why? How is the forming of labour unions opposed? Can
the labourers organize themselves in labour unions? What are the labour unions (if existing) in
the garment and gem industry doing for the workers? Do the labour unions have the right to
collective bargaining with the employer?
- What is the proportion of women/men/girls/boys in the total labour force of respectively the
garment and gem industry?
- How are the labourers recruited for the garment and gem industry? Which criteria does the
employer use for recruiting either women, men, girls and/or boys 197 ?
- What is the social-economic, caste and regional origin of the labourers?
- If children are removed from a certain sector can it be expected that they are replaced by adults
and/or will this removal result in a process of increasing mechanization?
- In what way are existing systems of (sub)contracting influencing the labour conditions of
women, men and in particular children?
- Are labour conditions in Export Processing Zones different from conditions in other production
areas?
194 Labour conditions: wage, wage structure, hours of work per day, the amount of working days per week, durance of break, safety on the job,
health aspects (ventilation, light, toilets, washing facilities, drinking water facilities etc.), (minimum) age, holidays, illness, etc..
195 Convention no. 26, Convention concerning the Creation of Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery.
Convention no. 131, Convention concerning Minimum Wage Fixing with Special References to Developing Countries (articles 2 and 3).
Convention no. 1, Convention Limiting the Hours of Work in Industrial Undertakings to Eight in the Day and Forty-eight in the week.
Convention no. 155, Convention concerning Occupational Safety and Health in the Working Environment (part IV).
Convention no. 138, Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment.
Only the Conventions no. 26 and no. 1 are ratified by India.
196 ILO Convention no. 87: Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention.
ILO Convention no. 98: Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention.
Both ILO Conventions are not ratified by India.
197 ILO Convention no. 111: Convention concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation.
This ILO Convention is ratified by India.