Masumaben used to work for 10 hours every day to earn Rs 40 so that she could support her family. A home-based garment worker, even that money came only twice a week when she sew petticoats, frocks, shorts, bags and cushion covers. “I used to work for more that 10 hours a day. I could earn only Rs 30 to Rs 40 per day.  I did not get regular work, only two days a week,” says Masumaben, whose life has changed after she joined a training conducted by the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Gandhinagar, organised by SEWA. Masumaben today earns up to Rs 2,500 per month and is proud of stitching dresses like those she had only seen in films before. “I have learnt to operate machines I have not even know existed,” she says with a new found confidence.

Masumaben is one of the few women workers in the home-based garment manufacturing industry in the country, who have been rescued from the ill-effects of globalisation. The lakhs of home-based workers in the country today suffer from lack of visibility and recognition of their contribution to the national productivity. There is no statistical information on them and they do not enjoy any protection under the law besides the absence of employer-employee relations. Poor working conditions, abysmally low wages, health hazards and lack of social security have exacerbated their woes.

Globalisation Hits Hard

But over and above these factors, the workers are more affected by globalisation and advent of technology. These two factors have adversely affected the livelihood of the workers. Take the case of the traditionally home-based activity of beedi rolling. With chewing tobacco “gutka” coming in the market, the beedis are out of market and many beedi rolling workers have lost their livelihoods. Gutka is cheaper as it is made with machines compared to beedis, which are handmade by workers. Ready-made garment workers are the worst affected by globalisation. The new type of materials like velvet and crepe and new designs made by machines are no match for the poor home-based workers and their old machines. They cannot afford to buy the new machines, as they are prohibitively expensive. They also do not have the skills to operate these machines.

Home-based rural workers are adversely affected by the rapid changes in technology. As opposed to factory workers, home-based workers find it difficult to get work, and when they do, it is not easy for them to procure raw material because of the high transportation, octroi and other costs involved. Besides, these workers are unable to work on new fabrics like velvet or to incorporate new designs and embroidery patterns on these fabrics as that requires the use of automatic, advanced equipment, which is financially out of their reach. They thus lack both the requisite infrastructure and finance to produce high quality goods. Home-based workers have no access to social security and do not even get a minimum wage. Earlier they used to work on a piece rate, while today, they work on a time rate, but neither of these systems has benefited them. Since few attempts are being made for skill up gradation among unorganised workers, they find it virtually impossible to compete in the globalised market. Information about the changing trends and demand patterns in both the national and international markets is crucial to help these workers promote their products among an increasingly demanding and fastidious audience. Yet not a single organisation in the country provides this kind of reliable information.

Challenges

To protect the employment and to provide social security to these workers the policy-related responses to each of the above challenges are:

v      Building up skills among the poor self employed workers

v      Ensuring market access to the poor and unorganised workers

v      Developing instruments of micro- insurance especially for poor women workers

v      Building and strengthening grassroots organisations like sahkari mandals for the poor in terms of influencing Government policy in this sphere and removing impediments to their development in the current policy

v      Introducing user-friendly technology to benefit the poor

v      Focusing on social development with a thrust on women’s empowerment for capacity building among women, and

v      Ensuring social security and welfare of the workers besides offering them financial and technical assistance.

Protection of the livelihoods of home-based workers requires a legislation, which could be not only seen as a measure to ensure their rights, but a tool towards economic growth and an opportunity to improve the quality of employment, provide a decent life to the workers and integrate them with the growing opportunities in the country. A Welfare Board and other subsidiary welfare boards to provide social security to the home-based workers with representation from the government, workers and employers or contractors could be another measure. The workers also need to be given the advantage of technology so that they learn new skills to survive in a competition-driven environment. They should be given identity cards as well as equipped with enough information to build the much-needed confidence. Informal workers need to fall back on some sort of financial and social security in the form of childcare, healthcare, insurance and provident fund, which must be taken care of at the policy level. For augmenting their buying power, workers need open, flexible funds that can be easily accessed even by the poor workers. Research and development in the sector is important for bringing about creative development in all the different jobs and for reducing drudgery. That would mean more and more women workers like Masumaben leaving their miserable and monotonous past.