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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The unit in Tirupur takes care of all the processes like knitting yarn into fabric, bleaching and
dyeing (by another subcontracted unit in Tirupur), steaming, printing, stitching, ironing, checking,
packing. Per month 20,000 pieces can be manufactured. The minimum order taken is 1,000
pieces. For a simple basic T-shirt the agent/importer pays Rs 60 to Rs 70 (Dfl 3.25).
The production process is split and takes place in separate rooms. In one department the sampling
and cutting is done and in another room the garments are checked and ironed. In a separate room
the garments are stitched and dirt is removed from the fabrics. Then in another room the ready
made garments are packed. In all the different rooms, children are at work. They do simple tasks
like carrying bundles of cloth from one room to another. In every room around 4 children are assisting
the adult workers. None of the children are behind the stitching machines. Girls help the
tailor with winding of the thread around the spinning wheel. Everywhere children sit on the floor
arranging and folding the cloth. In total I have seen 12 to 15 children spread over 4 to 5 rooms in
two buildings. They looked much younger than 14 years of age. My estimate of their ages is
around 9 years of age.
The manufacturing rooms inside the two buildings are spacious with sufficient light, but
ventilation is lacking. Especially in the rooms where the knitting process is done on electrical
circulating knitting machines, the atmosphere is filled with fibres. Mainly adult males stand in
these rooms for approximately 12 to 16 hours per day. I started coughing immediately and it
looked as if it was snowing in the unit. I would be surprised if people did not catch Tuberculosis
in this unit. All the workers have to stand the whole day. Only the tailors sit on a stool. The
children either walk around or sit on the floor.
Case IV
This unit is a garment manufacturing exporter and member of the Apparel Export Promotion
Council. Although one of the partners of this unit was not available, somebody else answered my
questions. This person, however, gave me the visiting card of the person whom I first had
contacted in Tirupur. The card shows the same address of this unit but the name of the unit is
different. Later it was explained to me that 'the two companies are sister companies. The largest
amount of quotas is received by one unit and the rest of the quotas is received by the other unit'.
Thus, in reality, the two units are actually one unit but it seems that this manufacturer exporter receives
double quotas.
The company was established in 1982. It is a completely export-oriented company. The turnover
of the company is Rs 6.5 crores in 1994. It increased to Rs 10 crores in 1995. The turnover is
expected to be Rs 14 crores in 1996. It is a profitable company. The company employs 400
workers, of which 150 are female workers. The ages of the workers range between 24 and 30
years of age. The company has been subcontracting work for the last 6 to 8 years. In peak times
the orders can not be made in time which means that part of the work has to be subcontracted.
The wages in the factory differ from Rs 50 to Rs 60 (females) to Rs 80 (males) for an eight hours
shift. But the workers have to work overtime regularly, which means that workers are mostly
working 1,5 shift to 2 shifts (12 to 16 hours per day). Overtime work is not paid extra in this factory.
The workers are paid according to the piece rate system. During overtime work and in the
nightshift the workers only are paid for their finished pieces. In the weekend, also on Sundays, the
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