The Life of Labour: Garment Workers Protest Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace

Around 2,000 workers of a unit of Shahi Exports at Maddur in Mandya district walked out of the factory to protest against the management on June 23, 2018. The protest that was staged demanding minimum wages brought out the level of harassment that the women working in the factory face. The workers in the garment sector have been fighting to improve their working conditions, the safety of women workers at the workplace as well as wages. While the union leaders maintain that the protest was to demand an increase in dearness allowance, the women focussed the protest against sexual harassment at workplace. In this report, Newsclick chronicles the various cases of sexual harassment in these factories. An earlier study by the Garment Labour Union had revealed that 14% of women garment workers in Bengaluru have been raped or forced to commit a sexual act; 75% of garment workers report that there is no functioning complaints procedure in their factory for investigating and punishing in cases of sexual harassment or violence; 80% of women garment workers report their health and safety is at risk because of working conditions; 43% of women workers were not given maternity leave; 65% do not believe women garment workers can access justice because they are too poor.

Recently the Karnataka CM had met with representatives of various garment unions and had constituted a committee to look into the wage issue. But as this article reveals, it is vital that the issue of rampant sexual harassment is addressed immediately and an effective legal structure is created to deal with the complaints of the workers. (The Wire)