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Bangalore , Sept. 19

THE garment industry in Karnataka is one of the largest employers in the State along with the bidi industry. And women form a major part of this workforce.

Mr K.P. Gopinath, Co-ordinator, Civil Initiatives for Development and Peace (Cividep-India), a non-profit organisation that is studying labour issues in the sector, said "According to ILO standards, manufacturers here are supposed to comply to certain rules like the local labour laws, safety and health issues and social security measures. Not all, but several of them are violating these rules."

Karnataka has more than 1,50,000 workers in the industry, out of which nearly 1,10,000 workers are women, he says. `The reason for employing women is very clear: they are a vulnerable workforce," he expresses. Out of 100 processes involved in the manufacture of a garment, only about 15 per cent of the work may be actually done in India, he says. This is mainly low-end, low-value kind of jobs while the high-end and high-value job such as designing and finishing is done abroad.

Even the wages paid to the worker here is far lower than what a similar worker would be paid in the West.

The hourly wage of a British worker is about Rs 420 while that of an Indian one is about Rs 8. And most of the workforce is on contract employment.

One reason why the industry in India prefers to employ contract workforce here is because its response to market is expected to be faster than any other industry. "For instance, if fashions change or there's a recession, it's easier to offload these workers if they are on contract," feels Mr Gopinath.

To discuss these issues, Cividep-India along with Oxfam-GB, the Network of Social Action Groups, Bangalore, and the `Gender Studies Unit of the National Institute for Advanced Studies, Bangalore, are organising a national consultation on `Labour Standards in the Indian garment industry' on September 29 and 30 in Bangalore.

Participation from trade union representatives, labour rights activists, labour researchers, consumer activists, women's rights activist and NGOs is expected. "Through this we want to raise the consciousness of the industry," says Mr Gopinath.

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