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Article

27 Jun 2016

Author:
Anuradha Nagaraj

India's new deal for textile workers could add to risks, campaigners say

A government initiative to create millions of jobs and increase exports in the textile and garment industries could put vulnerable workers at greater risk, activists said, calling for better enforcement of existing labour laws. A package to generate 10 million jobs and boost exports by $30 billion over three years was unveiled on Wednesday but the measures, including cutting overtime, have raised concerns about workers' rights....Workers' rights campaigners say the industry is built on the back of cheap contract labour...."Creating more jobs will only mean even less regulation on the floor, with managements happily taking in new workers and firing old ones," said Jayaram K.R., a member of the Garment and Textile Workers' Union (GATWU), based in Bengaluru....Gopinath Parakuni, general secretary of Cividep India, which campaigns for workers' rights, said the new measures would not help workers, and urged tighter regulation to stop workplace abuses.