What’s the Real Cost of Fast Fashion?
Discover the Impact on Garment Workers’ Lives Through Cividep’s Workers’ Observatory - a New Platform for Their Stories, Workplace Data, & Insights
Garment worker Sheela earns just ?9,500 per month. To make ends meet, she sacrifices necessities, skips nutritious food, avoids doctor visits, and walks long distances to save on transport — stark wage disparities shape her life. Sheela’s struggles are not unique but emblematic of the harsh compromises garment workers make daily.?
For the 12 million workers in India’s garment industry, low wages and job insecurity reveal the hidden side of the clothes we wear every day. This is where the Worker’s Observatory , a recent initiative by Cividep India comes in. The Observatory is a comprehensive platform that sheds light on the struggles of garment workers through real stories, research findings, data visualisations, and a podcast.?
For instance, the inaugural episode of the Work in Progress podcast looks at the wage disparity in detail to better understand the struggles of workers like Sheela. Dr. Supriya RoyChowdhury, Visiting Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, and author of Cividep India’s recent research report, The Home and the World of Work , explains how wage disparity remains a critical issue. Despite the 2019 Code on Wages, most garment workers remain underpaid, trapped in cycles of economic hardship.
Listen to the Work in Progress podcast and visit the Worker’s Observatory to understand workers’ lives better and explore solutions to these systemic issues.
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FIELD DIARY
Missing Awareness: Did you know that many workers aren’t fully aware of the social security benefits they are entitled to? A Cividep team recently attempted to tackle this gap by hosting an awareness session on the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) Act. With 84 participants from the leather footwear sector, led by an EPF officer from Vellore, Tamil Nadu, the training covered key worker rights and how to navigate the grievance process. For many, it was a revelation —discovering benefits they had no idea they were missing out on.
Workers As Trainers:?Imagine a room full of garment workers, not just learning their rights but leading the conversation. That’s exactly what happened during a training session?on the Minimum Wages Act (1948), where workers learned about their entitlements and took on roles as trainers. Guided by field officers and experts, worker leaders shared their personal stories, creating a space where knowledge felt real and relatable. As they co-facilitated sessions, their confidence soared, leading to discussions on workplace challenges, and helping raise awareness about gender issues.
UPDATES
Charting a Fairer Future: Gopinath Parakuni, Founder, Cividep India (in pic), participated in a panel discussion during the Fair Labor Association’s (FLA) 25th anniversary celebration in Istanbul. The panel, titled “The Future of Fair Labor,” examined pressing issues in the labour rights landscape, including the impact of climate change, mandatory human rights due diligence, and advancements in artificial intelligence.?The panel was moderated by Dr. Dorothée Baumann-Pauly, Director of the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights.