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

Adult labour in the garment export industry of Bangalore
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hourly wage. The factory operates 6 days a week, during 8 hours per day. Overtime work is 2
hours and both females and males work overtime. The production manager said that all statutory
benefits, like ESI, PF, maternity leave, sickness leave, bonus etc. are paid to the workers. The
workers come to the factory to ask for a job. The factory has a training period of 6 months. For
jobs like helper and other low skilled jobs, the wage in this period is Rs 700 per month. For a
tailor, which is a skilled job, the wage in this period ranges between Rs 1200 to Rs 1500 per
month depending on the past experience of the worker. At the moment 100 workers are in the
training period. No work is subcontracted by this factory. There is no collective bargaining
agreement in this factory. The company forbids workers to join a labour union.
This company has been asked by a German buyer to sign a code of good conduct concerning the
age of workers, which should be 18 years of age and above. It seemed that the company has
complied with the code. Another condition which was asked by the German buyer, was that a
bonus should be paid to the workers. This could not be checked during the visit.
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5.5 Summary of the findings
- The reasons for the majority of women being employed in the garment industry in Bangalore
are: firstly, females are paid lower wages than males thus the demand by employers for women
workers is higher. Secondly, the supply of many tailoring centres in Bangalore (private and governmental)
caused a high influx of people (mainly women) from the lower income class into the
garment industry in Bangalore. Thirdly, recently more women migrated from the rural areas in
Karnataka to the urban centres like Bangalore for better job opportunities, which is a result of the
Structural Adjustment Programme and New Economic Policy of the former government which
stimulated industrialization in the cities.
- The interviewed workers stated that working hours were 8 hours per day from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m.
with 1 to 4 hours forced overtime work on top of these 8 hours. The lunch break varied between
15 and 30 minutes. The tea break lasted 15 minutes and took place one or two times per day. In
high season time, workers worked often 3 Sundays per month also. Overtime work occurred
almost every day, especially when an export order had to be met in time. There was no job
security for 12 month per year but around 8 month.
- Wages of the interviewed women varied between Rs 500 to Rs 1400 per month. The wage
range varied per surveyed area. Males earned wages which ranged between Rs 1600 and Rs 2500
per month. They were paid higher than females, often for the same job. The wage was fixed with
the rate of finishing garments per hour, which meant it was paid according to the piece rate
system. The wage level depended on work experience and type of job. Tailoring was among the
highest paying jobs. Helpers were the lowest paid workers and earned wages ranging between Rs
400 and Rs 800 per month. Males were more often than females carrying out the job of pattern
making and cutting of the cloth for which they received wages that ranged between Rs 2000 and
Rs 3000 per month. Supervisors, who were mainly males, earned wages that ranged between Rs
2500 and Rs 4000 month. The duration of probationary periods in the units ranged between 6 and
12 months. The wages in this period ranged between Rs 600 and Rs 1000 per month. The wages