Employment of Women in the Garment Industry (Abstract)

India has emerged as one of the major garment producing and exporting nations of the world. Garment making is a labour-intensive industry and most of the employment goes to women. It brings foreign exchange to the country through exports.

In India, the readymade garment sector forms an important segment in the broad-based textile industry. The activities of the textile industry include spinning, weaving, and production of cloth and garment items. It accounts for about 4 per cent of GDP, 25 per cent of the industrial production, and 30 per cent of the export earnings of the country. Besides, the industry provides gainful employment to millions of people directly and indirectly.

The development of the readymade garment sector is a recent phenomenon. In 1990, 12 per cent of the total exports of India formed the largest employer in the private sector (Tyagaraj Sharma, Economic Times, Aug. 2, 1991). A recent report states that its percentage share in the total exportable items increased from 11.2 per cent in 1988-’89 to 12.6 per cent in 1989-’90 to 13.2 per cent in 1990-’91, and to nearly 15 per cent in 1995-’96 (Hindu-Business Review, 1991). In fact, readymade garments as a commodity group occupies the third position among the principal export commodities next only to handicrafts, gems, and jewelry.

The significance of the garment manufacturing industry lies in its emergence as a ‘thrust industry’ bridging the technological handicap. It has carved out a special niche for itself from among India’s non-traditional export products. A large number of units began functioning in recent years and the share of garment items in the value of total annual exports is fast increasing.

Another important aspect is that the major share of the workforce in this sector constitutes women. Since most of the rapidly growing number of garment units are functioning in the houses (or rented sheds) of employers, it is difficult to get a reliable estimate of their actual number. However, according to CMIE (Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy) the industry provides employment to about 15 million people, of which almost 90 per cent is women.

Most of the garment-making units belong to the unorganised sector. Hardly 15-20 per cent of the units falls in the organised sector. Labour legislations, legal measures, and Minimum Wages Act are applicable only to a small section of the industry coming under the organised sector.

The present study purports to undertake a detailed investigation into the different types of garments units and their functioning in Kerala, with special reference to labour contracts and gender discrimination, if any.

* Sheela Varghese is Lecturer in Economics, Mar Athanasius College, Kothamangalam.