" Made in India: How Existing Laws Meant to Help Garment Workers Fall Short for Women", 24 September 2024

Incidents of sexual harassment are rampant in the garment industry – as many as 30 women Dalit garment workers in Haryana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu noted to these reporters.

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The women spoke of gender-based violent harassment (GBVH), caste-based discrimination, salary theft, and isolation for either refusing seniors’ unsolicited demands, failing to meet production targets or speaking out against the exploitation in their workplaces.

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Even though women make up one of the largest percentages of the workforce – more than 70% – in the global supply chains of the apparel sector, a closer examination of the situation reveals that women experience the highest levels of harassment in a workplace predominantly run by male supervisors, managers and contractors.

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“The managers would ask for sexual favour from women workers in exchange for a wage increase, and the ones who give in to their demands get the raise. It is an unsafe environment,”

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Since April 2020, more than 400,000 Karnataka garment workers have not received the state’s lawful minimum wage, especially in the tailoring sector. And in Tamil Nadu, the government has not revised the wages of its 600,000 garment workers since 2014.

The Garment and Textile Workers Union (GATWU) reports that the average monthly income for textile workers in India is Rs.10,441 (€115) much lower than the Asia Floor Wage Alliance’s calculated living wage of Rs 33,920 (€375).