Many individuals within the fashion industry's home-based segment are grappling with severe economic pressures. They often earn piece rates that fall below the minimum wage, plunging them into financial instability. The absence of formal employment contracts denies them essential benefits such as healthcare, paid leave, and retirement savings—basic rights that factory workers typically receive. International Women’s Day 2025: Pink Slogans, Pink Flowers, Pink Champagne and Pink Tax. 

‘Fashion Revolution India’ shines a spotlight on the grim realities faced by these invisible workers. Through candid dialogues with union representatives and members of SEWA in Delhi, it becomes glaringly obvious that these home-based workers, predominantly women, are vital to the supply chain. Yet, they receive no pay, protection, or even acknowledgment of their significant contributions. This marginalized workforce is acutely vulnerable, standing abandoned by both brands and government bodies.

Home-Based Female Workers in the Garment Industry (Photo Credits: File Image)

The exploitation of home-based workers is not just severe; it is appalling, thrusting them into a perpetual state of economic instability. Workers and unions are resolutely demanding living wages, reasonable working hours, union recognition, and accountability on the international stage. However, the relentless machinery of profit generation tramples any hope for social justice.

Despite the introduction of international legislative protections, the lived experiences of these workers are deteriorating. The unyielding pressure for increased production and the systematic alienation of labor have rendered many workers isolated, toiling for stagnant wages while brand monopolies thrive. As a policy researcher with the Fashion Transparency Index Working Group from September to December 2024, Fashion Revolution India has actively engaged with union leaders and researchers to confront the dire conditions confronting garment workers on factory floors and in home-based settings across India. Madhubani Art on Sarees - A Journey Close to Your Heart. 

Rukmini VP, President of the Garment Labour Union (GLU), underscores the alarming reality: among 72 sectors in India, the Garment, Leather, Spinning, and Textile industries report

the most dismal wages, ranging from INR 8,000 ($95) to INR 12,000 ($143) per month. National laws dictate that minimum wages must be revised every 3-5 years; however, in many states, wages have stagnated for over a decade. Even the infrequent revisions that occur are met with legal retaliation from factory owners. Workers, laboring 9 to 11 hours daily—far exceeding the Indian Labour Law's limit of 48 hours per week—struggle to survive on less than $100 per month, with work hours sometimes swelled to 14 or 16 daily during peak periods. “Workers are forced into 30-minute breaks, contingent upon meeting grueling production targets of 150-200 garment pieces per hour,” asserts Rukmini VP. Rampant harassment, caste-based discrimination, and inadequate healthcare and childcare facilities further erode the physical, social, and mental well-being of these workers.

This workforce is predominantly female, with about 90% being first-generation industrial workers who migrate across states in search of employment. These migrant workers face heightened harassment, a lack of negotiation power, and pervasive job insecurity. Alarmingly, underage girls as young as 14 or 15 often enter factories with forged age documents. This systemic exploitation leaves individual workers vulnerable while collective organizing is hindered by significant challenges. Union representatives report that fewer than 4% of workers in the garment industry are unionized in India. Moreover, brands and factories utilize extreme tactics to suppress organizing efforts—targeting workers, employing surveillance, engaging in economic intimidation, fabricating yellow trade unions, halting purchase orders, terminating employees, and threatening those who dare to fight for their rights.

Ironically, as compliance measures multiply, new forms of exploitation have emerged. The complexities surrounding documentation have led to specialized firms managing supplier paperwork, effectively excluding small manufacturers who cannot navigate this bureaucratic obstacle course. This results in the monopolization of large manufacturers, decoupling the legitimacy of submitted documents from the actual working conditions. There are no unannounced third-party audits to verify claims; factory visits are meticulously orchestrated, with threats of reprisals aimed at keeping workers silent. Auditors routinely neglect to engage with unions that could convey the truth about labor conditions.

Brands irresponsibly shift their accountability for maintaining decent working conditions to suppliers while clinging tightly to the profits derived from this exploitation a reprehensible act of class manipulation. This convoluted paper trail not only shields brands from accountability but also perpetuates the illusion of ethical production while workers remain trapped in a system that prioritizes documentation over genuine working conditions. In this scenario, paper serves as both a tool of oppression and a means of survival for the oppressed. Caught in their accumulated wealth, the ruling class wields economic instruments to foster an illusion of autonomy while deepening the blades of systemic exploitation.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 07, 2025 05:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).