A delegation, consisting of industry leaders and legal experts, has urged the US Department of Labour to drop non-tariff barriers, assuring that the Indian apparel export industry does not employ child labour at its factories.
“The US government has placed restrictions on Indian readymade garment exporters. They have also threatened to increase non-trade barriers. Last week, a team from India, with representatives from Northern India Textile Research Association and Tirupur Exporters Association, held negotiations with the US Labour Department to drop these trade barriers. The industry has by and large managed to eradicate child labour,” said Mr Amarendra Sahoo, Secretary General, Apparel Export Promotion Council.
In an proactive effort, the Apparel Export Promotion Council has come out with an initiative for garment exporters to mend the ‘sweat-shop' image the garment export industry has in the global market.
The council is rolling out a pan-Indian programme – DISHA (Driving Industry Towards Sustainable Human Capital Advancement) – which will help garment makers comply with global social standards and norms. The programme will educate apparel exporters on code of ethics covering issues of child labour, freedom of association wages and benefits, health and industrial safety.
The programme, supported by the Ministry of Textiles, has been vetted by the International Labour Organisation. It will assess practices of export units, identify gaps and offer guidelines to plug those gaps. Annual appraisals, evaluations and certification are also part of the initiative.
“While children are no longer employed at the factories of exporters, who are often subject to audits by international brands, it is present at the cotton fields. Often exporters are not even aware that child labour is employed at some end of the supply chain, could be at the sub-contractor level or at the farm. DISHA will help exporters map their supply chain and take corrective action if need be. It will also help companies focus on internal systems and put in place internal procedures and processes,” said Mr Anil Sahai, who is spearheading the DISHA initiative.
Mr Sahai is the CEO of T-Group Solutions, a monitoring and consultancy services company for labour standards and working conditions.
Currently, AEPC is in the process of enrolling registrations from the exporting community to be part of DISHA.
The advisory board of DISHA will include industry stakeholders, global brands, members from the textiles and labour ministries and NGOs. “We also plan to enlist the support of the International Labour,” said Mr Sahai. He has spoken to brands such as Prana, Ralph Lauren and DKNY about DISHA. Prana has already directed its factories in India to follow the DISHA code.
DISHA, Mr Sahai hopes, will match up to global standards such as Better Work in Cambodia and Goklden List in Jordan. “There are no audits in these countries. Compliance to these standards is completely trusted by global brands.”