Labour without Liberty: Female Migrant Workers in Bangalore’s Garment Industry

Press release from India Committee of the Netherlands, Clean Clothes Campaign and the Garment Labour Union, January 2018: 
An increasing number of migrants are being employed in India’s garment factories, supplying to big international brands including Benetton, C&A, GAP, H&M, M&S and PVH. They are more vulnerable and are treated differently than local workers, as new research into working conditions in three Bangalore garment factories reveals.

Uma came from a small village like many of her young colleagues. She was recruited and trained to go work into one of the 1200 factories in Bangalore, the ‘textile capital’ of India. Uma used to go to school and help her mother, now she stitches dresses and sportswear for H&M, Benetton, C&A, Calvin Klein and many other big international brands. Six full days a week. The target is 100 pieces per hour. For a minor like she is - her mates reminded her she was 18, but she turned out to be only fifteen - work at the factory in a faraway city is difficult. She misses her family and friends, who are thousands of kilometers away. Like the many other young female migrant workers, Uma has to support her family with the money she earns in the textile factory. But the monthly salary of 91 euros, minus the pay for rent, electricity and water, is less than the recruiting agent had promised her. He also falsely promised that board and food would be free, but it is not. Freedom of movement outside factory hours is severely restricted. As a young female migrant, not speaking Kannada, the local language, she is isolated and vulnerable to abuse. 

India’s textile and apparel market is one of the oldest industries of the country. With an estimated value of US $120 billion now, the sector has become the second largest employer of the country, after agriculture, employing about 45 million people directly. It contributes to approximately 4% to GDP and 13% to India’s total exports, mainly to the EU, USA, UAE, China & Bangladesh. The country has a huge and ever growing domestic market as well. The sector is expected to further grow the coming years (but estimates differ a lot). To optimise its capacity and remain ahead of fast emerging Asian competitors, the Indian government set up a number of export promotion policies and programs to upgrade labour skills.

Fueled by consumer demand, the cheap ‘fast fashion’ industry is growing, accelerating production to get new catwalk products into the shops. Between 2000 and 2014, clothing production worldwide doubled, the number of new collections per brand increased from two to five per year. This negatively impacts the environment and labour conditions. The short turnaround time due to rapid fashion cycles means more over-time (often unpaid), high intensity of work and overall exhaustion of the workers due to overwork and frayed tempers at the work-floor giving rise to harsh behaviour from supervisors and managers towards the workers.

Find the abstract here and the full report.