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

Child and adult labour in the garment export industry of Tirupur
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needed in taking care of siblings. Also girls worked (apart from the household work) regularly in
the nightshift in the hosiery factory, like boys. The girl child, therefore, had less free time than the
boy child and was burdened with a double workload. Her health was more at risk than the health
of the boy child.
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4.5 Case studies of hosiery manufacturing units and a labour union in Tirupur
The visited knitwear manufacturing units in Tirupur, consisted of suppliers and exporters. It was
possible to see all the processes of knitwear production, like the bleaching and dyeing of the
fabric, pattern making, cutting, stitching, button holing and stitching, cleaning, ironing, folding,
and finally packing of the garments for shipment to other countries.
Due to the sensitivity of the issue of child labour, it was not always possible to ask questions
related to (child) labour. Apart from exporters of Tirupur also exporters in Bombay were
contacted who have supplying units in Tirupur. The latter units were also visited. The exporters
came themselves from Bombay to Tirupur and showed me the units. These exporters often did
not want to elaborate on questions related to labour and often used the excuse that they were not
informed about labour related issues because their actual job is in Bombay. Though the factory
visits could not give me detailed information on the exact ages, wages, working hours, reason of
working etc. of the children, other observations and information (such as working circumstances)
will enrich the research in many aspects.
It was found that many European retailers, chain-stores and buying houses do business with exporters
and manufacturers in Tirupur. The garment manufacturing units of these exporters and
manufacturers were visited. The majority of these exporters subcontract the work to smaller units
(suppliers). In most of the (export) manufacturing companies the working conditions were bad.
For example, most of the employers of these supplying units or direct export companies did not
pay legal minimum wages, workers did not get social security benefits like ESI and PF, working
overtime was not paid twice the salary, working days lasted much longer than 8 hours, women
earned lower wages than men for the same job, workers were not allowed to organize themselves
and to join labour unions and, the majority of these exporters and suppliers employed children in
the production process. The foreign retailers, chain-stores and buying houses, of which it was
found that they buy their knitted garments from garment exporters and manufacturers in Tirupur
in whose companies the labour conditions were bad and children were at work in the production
process, include from the Netherlands: C&A, Coby Tex, Ciso, Interwear, Darnhouwer RW,
M.l.v.c., Maxi; from France: Carrefour; from the United Kingdom: Ethel Austin. The foreign
retailers, chain-stores and buying houses of which it was found that they buy knitted garments
from exporters and manufacturers in Tirupur in whose companies labour conditions were bad but
where no child labour was observed, include from the Netherlands (indirect through
England): Naf Naf, Daltral; from England: Havika International, Suchata Fiction Clothing
Company; from Belgium: INNO, Textile Puttmens; from Germany: Ringulla; from Canada: Trio
Selection; from Switzerland: Coop Schweiz and, from France: Devico.
In the following four cases the labour conditions in four manufacturing units in Tirupur are