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

58
Child and adult labour in the garment export industry of Tirupur
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
company still keeps on manufacturing. Shifts are from 8 to 12 a.m., 1 to 5 p.m., 6 to 9 p.m., and 9
to 1 a.m. The male workers sleep inside the factory. Women are paid less because, says the
manager, they are doing less skilled jobs like checking, helping, stitching and cutting. The women
are also employed in the nightshifts. Males do jobs like packing, dyeing and bleaching of the
clothes.
The factory works with a probationary period which is one whole year. During this period,
workers earn a wage around Rs 40 per 8 hours shift. Out of the 400 workers 50 workers at present
are in the probationary period. 'To avoid labour problems', said the manager, 'the factory is split
into 7 separate units with different names, which are located 5 km around the office, because it is
impossible to control 400 workers at the same time'. Another way to avoid labour problems, like
for example demands for higher wages or paid sickness leave, the management discourages the
workers to join labour unions. The manager of the unit said that 'the labour union is getting the
profit and not the workers'.
The company invests a lot in new machinery. They want to build their own spinning mill to manufacture
their own yarn. They plan to install a huge cotton dust absorb-system in the mill to
protect the workers from inhaling the cotton fibres. They are also planning to import new knitting
machines. Because of the spiralling yarn prices the company lost Rs 10 per bought kilogram yarn.
But this is off-set by the profits. The company produces 300,000 garments per month. The orders
which are taken contain maximum 1,000 pieces and minimum 500 pieces.
Among the foreign buyers, England (Havika International and Suchata Fiction Clothing
Company: 60% of exports) is the biggest customer. The Netherlands (Naf Naf, Daltral) is dealt
with through England. Other European buyers include from Belgium: INNO, Textile Puttmens;
from Germany: Ringulla; from Canada: Trio Selection; from Switzerland: Coop Schweiz and,
from France: Devico. England, Switzerland and Austria pay good prices, according to the manager.
Switzerland and Austria are non-quota countries and the ordered quantities often are small in
size. A T-shirt with short sleeves is on average sold to the buyer for Rs 75 (US$ 2,1) and with
long sleeves for Rs 89 (US$ 2,5). Foreign buyers visit Tirupur 1 or 2 times in a month. The company
is checked 2 or 3 times a year on the quality of the garments, and demands mainly concern
the content of the label of the garment which gives information on the qualities and properties of
the garment. The company never had problems with clients. The company is promoted in the
Netherlands and Europe by the Centre of Business Promotion in Rotterdam (CBI). At the
moment the CBI is inquiring for this company for possible future orders with NOVO Imports and
Trend House in the Netherlands.
Inside the manufacturing unit the following processes are carried out: sampling, cutting, stitching,
ironing, checking and packing. When I arrived at the unit during lunchtime there were only a few
people working. I saw 4 children of approximately 9 years old standing in the unit, and it
appeared as if they were waiting to start working again. I did not see them working.
Case of a trade union in Tirupur: All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)
In an interview with the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) in Tirupur, which is affiliated
to the Communist Party of India, the following was said: