A

TRAINING REPORT
ON
INTRODUCTION AND AN OVERVIEW OF THE GARMENT
INDUSTRY

A Report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

FROM

Submitted By:
JAYDEEP KUMAR
B.B.A. (SEM-V)

Submitted To:

THE CO-ORDINATOR

AISHWARYA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Jodhpur (Rajasthan)

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and deep regards to my

guide Professor Mrs. Mridula Chanda for his exemplary guidance, monitoring
and constant encouragement throughout the course of this thesis. The blessing,
help and guidance given by him time to time shall carry me a long way in the
journey of life on which I am about to embark.

I also take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to BHAGA RAM,
Manager, TEE ENTERPRISES, for his/her cordial support, valuable information and
guidance, which helped me in completing this task through various stages.

I am obliged to staff members of TEE ENTERPRISES, for the valuable

information provided by them in their respective fields. I am grateful for their
cooperation during the period of my assignment.

Lastly, I thank almighty, my parents, brother, sisters and friends for their
constant encouragement without which this assignment would not be possible.

Jaydeep Kumar

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 INDEX

Sr. No. Content Page No.

1 INTRODUCTION OF GARMENT INDUSTRY 1-3

2 GLOBAL EVALUTION OF GARMENT 4-7

INDUSTRY

3 COMPANY OVERVIEW 8-10

4 OBJECTIVE AND METHODOLOGY OF 11-14

RMG COMPANY

5 PROFILE OF READYMADE GARMENT IN IN 15-16

INDIA

6 STRUCTURE OF THE INDUSTRY 17-19

7 FACTS AND FINDING 20-22

8 NATURE OF OPERATION 22-23

9 RESEARCH PROBLEMS 23-24

10 DATA/INFORMATION COMPILED AND 25-28

ANALYSIS

11 WORKING CONDITION 29-30

12 INTERVIEW WITH THE 31-33

BRANDS/RETAILORS

13 SCOPE OF THE RMG INDUSTRY 34-35

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 14 SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE RMG INDUSTRY 36-40

15 CONCLUSION 41-42

16 RECOMMENDATION 43-44

17 ANNEXURE : ANALYSING AND 45-49

INTERPRETATION

18 BIBLIOGRAPHY 50

Introduction

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India is the world’s second largest producer of textiles and garments
after China.

It is the world’s third largest producer of cotton—after China and the

USA—and the second largest cotton consumer after China. The
Indian textile industry is as diverse and complex as country itself and
it combines with equal equanimity this immense diversity into a
cohesive whole. The fundamental strength of this industry flows from
its strong production base of wide range of fibres / yarns from natural
fibers like cotton, jute, silk and wool to synthetic /man-made fibres like
polyester, viscose, nylon and acrylic. The growth pattern of the Indian
textile industry in the last decade has been considerably more than
the previous decades, primarily on account of liberalization of trade
and economic policies initiated by the Government in the 1990s. In
producer-driven value chains, large, usually transnational,
manufacturers play the central roles in coordinating production
networks.

This is typical of capital- and technology-intensive industries such as

automobiles, aircraft, computers, semiconductors and heavy
machinery.

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Buyer-driven value chains are those in which large retailers,
marketers and branded manufacturers play the pivotal roles in setting
up decentralized production networks in a variety of exporting
countries, typically located in developing countries. This pattern of
trade-led industrialization has become common in labour-intensive,
consumer-goods industries such as garments, footwear, toys,
handicrafts and consumer electronics. Large manufacturers control
the producer-driven value chains at the point of production, while
marketers and merchandisers exercise the main leverage in buyer-
driven value chains at the design and retail stages. Apparel is an
ideal industry for examining the dynamics of buyer-driven value
chains.

The relative ease of setting up clothing companies, coupled with the

prevalence of developed-country protectionism in this sector, has led
to an unparalleled diversity of garment exporters in the third world.
Apparel is an ideal industry for examining the dynamics of buyer-
driven value chains.
Key words: liberalization, Textile and Garment industry, labour-
intensive, Buyer-driven value chains, producer-driven value chains,
protectionism, and capital and technology intensive industries

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In global capitalism, economic activity is international in scope and
global in organization. “Internationalization” refers to the geographic
spread of economic activities across national boundaries. As such, it
is not a new phenomenon. It has been a prominent feature of the
world economy since at least the seventeenth century when colonial
powers began to carve up the world in search of raw materials and
new markets. “Globalization” is more recent, implying functional
integration between internationally dispersed activities.

Industrial and commercial firms have both promoted globalization,

establishing two types of international economic networks. One is
“producer driven” and the other “buyer-driven”. In producer-driven
value chains, large, usually transnational, manufacturers play the
central roles in coordinating production networks (including their
backward and forward linkages).

This is typical of capital- and technology-intensive industries such as

automobiles, aircraft, computers, semiconductors and heavy
machinery.
Buyer- driven value chains are
those in which large retailers, marketers and branded manufacturers
play the pivotal roles in setting up decentralized production networks
in a variety of exporting countries, typically located in developing
countries.

This pattern of trade-led industrialization has become common in

labour-intensive, consumer-goods industries such as garments,
footwear, toys, handicrafts and consumer electronics.

Tiered networks of third -world contractors that make finished goods

for foreign buyers carry out production. Large retailers or marketers
that order the goods supply the specifications.

Global Evolution of GARMENT Industry

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There were various stages - from a historical perspective - where the
textile industry evolved from being a domestic small-scale industry, to
the status of supremacy it currently holds.

The ‘cottage stage’ was the first stage in its history where textiles
were produced on a domestic basis. During this period cloth was
made from materials including wool, flax and cotton. The material
depended on the area where the cloth was being produced, and the
time they were being made. In the later half of the medieval period in
the northern parts of Europe, cotton came to be regarded as an
imported fibre.

During the later phases of the 16th century cotton was grown in the
warmer climes of America and Asia.
When the Romans ruled, wool, leather and linen were the materials
used for making clothing in Europe, while flax was the primary
material used in the northern parts of Europe.

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New innovations in clothing production, manufacture and design
came during the Industrial Revolution - the new wheels, looms, and
spinning processes changed clothing manufacture forever. The ‘rag
trade’, as it is referred to in the UK and Australia is the manufacture,
trade and distribution of textiles.

Innovation and technology

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Clothing industry is known with fashion and fashion is beautiful
combination of fabric and innovative designs.
Clothing industry is highly fashion driven in western world and most of
the innovative designing takes place in foreign land done by fashion
designers of foreign buyers. Production takes place in Asian
countries like India and China. Indian garment industry is not very
technologically advanced.
Evidences show that very limited investment is done in technology up
gradation to improve productivity and product quality. It is still skill
driven.

Skills
In times of cut throat competition continuous up gradation of skills if
also must along with modernization of plant and machinery. Along
with modernization there arises need for skilled workers to run the hi-
tech machines efficiently, understand the modern production
processes. Thus skill requirement increases with technological up
gradation.
In hosiery industry scenario, for want of availability of skilled laborer in
adequate quantity, many firms in industry are hesitant to expand their
scale of operations or enter into hi-end segment with cutting edge
technology
( 2009).

Nature of skill gap in garment industry:

Skill gap can be defined the gap between required level of knowledge
and skill to do a particular activity and the existing level of

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knowledge and skill to accomplish the work. Alternatively it can also
be identified by the gap in the demand and supply of skilled
workers at the existing wage rate in a unit.
Skill gap may be at varying levels in different sort of activities in a
garment unit. Further skill gap can be found at different hierarchical
levels of an organization, example at operative level, supervisory
level, middle management level, and senior management level. So
remove the skill gap at various levels, different strategies should be
adopted.

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 AN OVERVIEW OF THE TEE
ENTERPRISES

Tee Enterprise is the well established enterprise located near 15,

Ashish Industrial estate, Ground Floor, Gokhale road (S), Dadar(W),
Mumbai dealing in various types of men casual shirts and trousers.
The casual wear brand from the house of Tee enterprises is sure to
emerge as an instant hit with Young India. Trendy casual shirts and
innovatively designed jeans including fashionable washed denims in
appealing fits aptly make up the range.

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Taleta formal Shirtts Fashion and style in bottom wear takes a whole
new dimension when denim styling and chinos fabrics come in
unison. Casual shirts, a range of highly stylized cotton trousers offers
you a new range of clothing for the youth.

Casual shirts

A basket of fashionable casual shirts catering

to the fashion oriented youth who care for
nothing but the best in clothing. Taleta casual
shirts offers you the best of the international
styling at affordable pricing.

Taleta
It offers you a range of
shirts guaranteed to start a cult with its styling
and washes. Coronated with trendy accessories
in imported metal, leather and embroideries,
these pieces of art come in variety of the latest
in vogue washes.

TEE ENTERPRISES is a leading player in the fabric and readymade

garments market. Over the years, it has successfully established its

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footprint across a wide spectrum of categories from fabrics to trendy
casual wear, semi-formal and formal wear to finely crafted Premium
wear.
Tee’s credentials are both an achievement and a pointer to the
excellent prospects for the future. Tee’s financial strength and
tremendous Corporate goodwill is the envy of many a company. It is
the largest manufacturer of blended fabrics in India. Tee is the
Creator and Owner of leading brands of textiles and garments.
With a best in class and sophisticated manufacturing facility, vertically
integrated from yarn to garments.
This enables it to benchmark products and quality to international
standards, giving it a strong competitive advantage. Years of
experience and domain knowledge gives Tee’s an edge when it
comes to understanding the consumer and the market.
Tee’s well established and dynamic sales and distribution network
gives it ample muscle in the marketplace.
Tee Enterprises has professionally managed woven/knitted garment
manufacturers in India, which has got a high technical caliber in both
woven and knitwear, offering men, women and children garments and
outerwear.
Tee Enterprise takes a lot of care in ensuring all its manufacturing
units are socially & technically conformed to requirements of it’s
clients. Over the period, our manufacturing units have been
audited by various agencies/NGOs. Its factories are SA-8000,
WRAP certified, which make it a socially aware organization.

Apart from fresh orders, we are also dealing with left over stocks
available in the market in both woven and knitted garments

Objectives

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Following are the specific objectives-
1 (1) To understand the problems and prospects of Ready made
Garment industry in the context of employment.
2
3 (2) To understand the skill requirements of the industry to equip
workers for upgrading their employability potential as the industry
performance improves.
4
5 (3) To understand the living conditions of the labour force in the
centre, their lifestyles, needs and aspirations and attitudes towards
forming organisations.
6
7 (4) To provide opportunities to the labour force in the area for
capacity building and improving their employment potential, better
their quality of life, and encourage them for forming their
organisations for addressing to the common goals of attaining better
and secured living.

(5) To carry on garment business

anywhere in India and/or elsewhere the
business of drappers and dealers in cloth of all
types and every description to act as tailors.

(6) All types of readymade garments all

dresses made up of natural synthetic or
blended textile of all types and of every
description.

(7) Cutters and outfitters makers and

supply of cloth garments and every kind and
description.

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Reasons for India’s recent sluggish
export performance in textiles and
clothing include:

1. Slowdown in demand from some major

importers.
2.
3. The depreciation of the US dollar,
resulting in an appreciation of the rupee vis-
à-vis competitor countries that were
partially or wholly pegged to the US dollar.

4. Labour laws and scale economics:

Countries
like China have historically had high labour
flexibility in their export oriented units. This
has allowed them to achieve large scale in
terms of labour force employed in each
manufacturing facility and reap the benefit of
scale economies and use the latest
advanced machinery from developed
countries. India, in contrast, because of
fragmentation of units and small scale (to
avoid labour laws applicable to employees
above 100 and procedural biases and
rigidities), has purchased relatively less of
such advanced machinery.

4. Logistical delays and costs:

though the national highways are
improving, this is not true of connectivity to
all sources and destinations. The turn
around time in major ports of India and
movement of cargo between ships and
source or destination within India is still
plagued by monopolistic bureaucratic
structures with little accountability and
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 incentives for efficient service delivery to the
exporter and importer.

5. High cost of power in India this is 1.5-2

times higher then in competing nations.

Methodology

The exploratory research which was conducted

to understand the characteristics of the labour
market in the selected RMG centres is based
on the sample surveys in the two centres.

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There were two sets of samples, from Tirupur
and Bangalore.
1
2
3 a) The preliminary step was to get the
views on the industry from all stakeholders, and
to get their ideas on the kind of skills that they
find in short supply in their respective labour
market.
4
5 In the field visits, it was observed that there
were different types of associations that
functioned at Tirupur and Bangalore. The data
from the local industry associations formed the
sampling frame for selecting the units for the
research, also supported by inputs from
committed local trade unionists who are in the
process of organising the ready-made garment
workers. A pre-tested data capture format was
used for collecting information from them.

1 b) For the research on the characteristics

of labour, a random sample of 146 workers in
Tirupur and 96 workers in Bangalore were
interviewed using an interview schedule, to
elicit the following information- their
demographic profile, socio-economic
background, their knowledge regarding industry
and current employment status, inclination for
skill training and their possible affinity to any
particular organisation.
2
3 The findings will also provide feedback as to
the awareness levels of workers regarding
other social issues, their attitudes towards
organisations of labour for attending to their
common problems and human rights, their
expectations regarding such organisational
activities, etc.

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Profile of Readymade Garment Industry In India

While presenting the profile of RMG sector in India, this chapter also
presents profile of the target centres identified for the proposed
Workers’ Service Centres in the project.

Profile of RMG in India

The textile industry including readymade garments occupies a unique

position in the Indian economy. Its predominant presence in the
Indian economy is manifested in terms of its significant contribution to
the industrial production, employment generation and foreign
exchange earnings.

The RMG or also called as the apparel sector is the final stage of the
textile value chain and the maximum value addition takes place at
this stage. In India RMG industry is fragmented and pre-dominantly in
the small/scale sector. Therefore, the sector is low investment and
highly labour-intensive industry.
This industry is environment friendly as it is least polluting and it could
provide employment to the rural population, as this sector does not
need sophisticated skill sets.

The RMG industry contributes around 8 per cent of India’s exports, 7

per cent of industrial output and is the largest employment generator
after agriculture. It contributes about 14% to the industrial production
and about 4% to the GDP. It has immense potential for employment
generation particularly in the rural and remote areas of the country on
account of its close linkage with agriculture.

The contribution of this industry to the gross export earnings of the

country is about 37% while it adds only 1 – 1.5% to the gross import
bill of the country. It is the only industry which is self reliant and
complete in value chain i.e. from raw material to the highest value
added products i.e. garments/made ups. As a corollary to this the
growth and promotion of this industry has a significant influence on
the overall economic development of our country.

Diagnostic Study Report for Ready Made Garment Cluster,

Bangalore-R. Gopinath Rao, SISI, Government of India, Bangalore
India‘s textile products, including handlooms and handicrafts, are
exported to more than a hundred countries. However, the USA and
the EU, account for about two-third of India‘s textiles exports. The
other major export destinations are Canada, U.A.E., Japan, Saudi
Arabia, Republic of Korea, Bangladesh, Turkey, etc. In the post-quota
period, India has emerged as a major sourcing destination for new
buyers. As a measure of growing interest in the Indian textile and
clothing sector a number of buyers have opened their sourcing/
liaison office in India. Commercially, the buoyant retailers across the
world are looking for options of increasing their sourcing from the
Indian markets.
 Structure of The Industry
Production Units –Garment production units in India are spread
across the country but mainly concentrated in manufacturing clusters.
The clusters are also specialized in terms (a) types of garments
manufactured (either woven or knitted) and (b) variety of products
produced (i.e. Men’s Women’s of Children’s). Major manufacturing
centres (19) are Kolkata, Mumbai. Tirupur, Indore, Banglaore,
Chennai, Okhla, Gurgaon, Noida, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Bellary, Kanpur,
Ahmedabad, Jabalpur, Salem, Erode, Madurai and Nagpur.

Number of Units-Estimated number of units in 19 centres are 33400,

that account for 95% of total production of the country. Almost 92%
of total units situated in the following 12 bigger centres account for
85% of total production.
Table No.1 Total Number of Units
Table No.2 Number of Units, Sizewise
 FACTS AND FINDING
WHO ORGANISES THIS IN THE ENTERPRISES?

The question was formulated in two espects;

1. who decide what is to be given out to
subcontractors/homeworkers?
2. who organizes this in the company?
The prevailing answer to the first question are that this is done by the
enterprise management. In the survey the two question purposefully
follow one after another and the difference in the answer indicates
that the question are not misunderstood. It seems that early as the
order is placed, the contractor provides further subcontracting for
certain activities or under certain condition.

Are there labels sewn on to clothes?

Label are sewn onto clothes in almost all

enterprises. This is not the case in small workshop. At the same time,
there are other small firms whose only activity is sewing labels. For
example there is a firm in the town of Gotse Delchev, in which about
10 workers are only sewing labels onto clothes, packaging them and
dispatching the production of several workshop from neighbouring
villages. It is surprising that in a big enterprises like “bulfanco”, labels
are not always sewn.

How much is work is done for the company? Just one operation,
such as embroidery, or is it the entire garment?

Home workers usually perform one operation only (see

above). In enterprises this is different at the first level of
subcontracting in bulgaria (receiving an order from abroad) and
mainly in big enterprises, there are cases when the sample of the
garment is provided and the entire manufacture has to be done by
the enterprises –cutting, sewing, trimming, ironing, packaging, and
dispatching the finished product.
 The enterprises itself may decide to further subcontract home
workers or other enterprises to perform some of the operations. In the
majority of cases, however, in medium-size and small enterprises, the
fabrics are received pre-cut it is only the sewing that has to be done.
the follow up operation (trimming, packaging) can also be
subcontracted to home workers or firms.

Are there different agents (intermediaries) /subcontractors/home

workers for each new order. Or do they remain the same?

There are variety of cases with intermediaries. Some enterprises,

mostly the big ones, work with one intermediary for all order- usually
this is a trade company that is the only one maintaining contacts with
various international buyers (“brilliant investors” AD-Sofia for “Brilliant”
AD Sofia and Plovdiv, “contex Druzhba “ Ltd.- Sofia for “Druzhba
Style” AD Varna etc.).

How many suppliers are there to a particular manufacturer?

The delivery of materials and accessories are usually done by the

contractors. There are some cases of delivery materials by a third
party- “Vida style” receives orders from spain, materials from
Portugal, and produces and exports for the US.

It is very seldom for Bulgarian firms to deliver the materials and

accessories. An interesting trend is being observed with the settling in
Bulgaria of leading textiles firms. Thus a relationship can be
established with garment enterprises.

This is how the italian textiles company “Mirogilo” with 4 textile

enterprises in the country has acted and has started the production of
a garments collection of their own with the brand MOTIVI.
 Nature of Operation
There are two types of units operating within the garment
industry in India.
1
1. Manufacturers:
2 Controlling manufacturing operation including purchase of raw
materials (primarily fabric or yarn), design developments, cutting
operation, folding & ironing (sometimes), packaging and marketing of
products in local and international markets. These proprietorship units
are closely held by the members of the family. Integrated units (very
few in the industry) undertake other operations like knitting (for knit
garments) stitching, fixing of accessories and dyeing too.

2. Jobbers:
1 Involved in knitting, stitching, embroidery, accessory fixing, ironing,
processing etc. There is, however, few number of cut – to-pack
jobbers operating in the industry. They obtain orders from the
manufacturers supply and work on piece rate basis. However,
sometimes even manufacturers undertake jobbing operation after
obtaining fabric and designs from the buyers in order to ensure
optimal utilization of capacities.

Activity wise classification of units

1
2 Knitting- mainly jobbers
3
4Cutting-Majority are manufacturers
5
6 Cutting & Stitching-are manufacturers as well as jobbers 7

8Stitching- majority are jobbers

9
10Embroidery- majority are jobbers
11
12Accessory Fixing /finishing –largely jobbers
 13
14 Dyeing-majority are jobbers
15
16 Packing- mainly manufacturers

Most of the manufacturers outsource a major part (around 60%) of

their production process to the jobbers due to cheap labour.

Research Problems
Challenges for the Industry

Labour supply –
Garment industry depends on migrant
labourers. Labour comes from UP and Bihar. However, large
clusters like Tirupur, Kolkata, Chennai etc. depend upon local
labour force, from nearby villages, due to easy availability. There is
greater tendency to employ contractual labour rather than
permanent labour.

The wages paid are as per the prevailing minimum wages

standards. The average reported wage rate is Rs.4000 per
month for the labour. One of the major problems faced by the
industry is huge shortage of appropriately trained manpower.

Fragmentation – the key problem

According to industry
associations, the garment industry in India has not grown to its
potential and the main reason for this is the fragmented structure of
the industry. Smaller sizes of the production units has led to several
drawbacks for the industry such as-
1 Uncompetitive scale in globalized environment
2Low technological development
3 Lower production
4 High raw material cost

Due all these the local clothing industry is failing to perform up to the
world-class standards, despite its high potential for growth.

To mitigate these challenges the domestic clothing industry needs to

be well equipped with modern technology, specialized skilled
workers, and quick adoption to changes with new trends which only
can place if there is greater consolidation.

The Government Policy is also responsible for

fragmentation to a great extent. To illustrate,
Woven garment sector was reserved for SSI
sector till The quota policy which prevailed
during the quota regime also did not encourage
consolidation of the units.
1 Exemption of excise duty for units having
turnover less than Rs.4 crores is equally
responsible for fragmentation.
 Data/information Compiled and
Analysis
This chapter presents the findings of the two sample surveys
conducted in Mumbai, followed by summaries of interviews/meetings
with industry stakeholders. A summary of the responses received
from some global brands, is also given, which throws light on the
expectations from the global players regarding the RMG industry in
India.

Mumbai-Sample Survey of Workers

A total of 146 workers were interviewed in Mumbai, using an interview
schedule. The main features revealed in the analysis are as follows.

Table No. 1 : Gender

Response Frequency Percent
N.R. 2 1.4
Male 99 66.9
Female 47 31.8

Total 148 100.0

Gender-
As has been noted in other studies, in Mumbai there is a
larger proportion of men in the RMG workforce. More than two-thirds
(66. 9%) of the respondents were male. In Mumbai, tailors and
cutters are mostly male, contrarily to for example the Bangalore
situation. In general, the garment industry in Mumbai is less
feminished than elsewhere. (Table 1)
Table No. 2: Age
Age in years Frequency Percent
Below 25 87 58.8
26-40 45 30.4
41-50 16 10.8

Total 148 100.0

Age-
It is interesting to note that 58.8%,i.e almost two -thirds of the
sample were below 25 years of age, while 30.4%were between 26-
40. About 10.8% were between 41-50 years. It was also observed
that it was the girls who were dominant in the younger age-group.
(Table 2)

Marital Status-
It seems almost a natural consequence of the
young workers that 62.8% of the respondents were unmarried, while
37.2% were married. During interviews, the girls often stated that they
plan to leave the job after marriage, and not certain that they would
wish to continue working. (Table 3)

Table No. 3: Marital Status

Marital status Frequency Percent
Married 55 37.2
Unmarried 93 62.8

Total 148 100.0

Table No. 4 : Number of Family

Members
Actual Nos. Frequency Percent
1 3 2.0
2 14 9.5
3 74 50.0
4 37 25.0
5 17 11.5
6 3 2.0

Total 148 100.0

Table No. 5 : Earning Members

Actual Nos. Frequency Percent

None 76 51.4
1 56 37.8
2 12 8.1
3 1 .7
4 3 2.0

Total 148 100.0

Family size and Earning Members-
Average family size was 3-4,
as 50% stated to have 3 members in family, while 25% had 4
members. 51.4% did not have any earning members in their families,
while 37.8% had one earning family member which helped them live
a fairly decent life in the city. (Table 4 and 5)

Table No. 6 : Years of Service

Years Frequenc Percent

y
Below 1 1 .7
1 35 23.6
2 38 25.7
3 49 33.1
4 12 8.1
5 2 1.4
6 8 5.4
7 3 2.0

Total 148 100.0

Years of Service-
82.4% of the sample had worked 1-3 years on
the present job.23.6% had worked for one year,25.7% for 2 years,
and 33.1% for 3 years.7 years were the maximum number of years
worked. ( Table 6)

Total Experience-
Though there were
respondents who had total work experience of
10-20 years, they constituted just 4.8% of the
sample. The major part of the sample, 45.3%
had total experience of 2-3 years and 27.7%
had experience upto one year only. This is not
surprising, in view of the fact that almost 2/3rds
of the sample were below 25 years.
 Working Conditions

Hours of work-

Only 16.9% reported 8 hours of work, and

22.3% said they worked for 9 hours. Half the
sample said they worked for 11-12 hours every
day.

However, they had no complaints about

working more hours, as they were paid
overtime rate for working above 8 hours.39.9 %
worked in shifts.Therefore,41.9 % said they
voluntarily worked overtime, as overtime rate
was double, as reported by 33.1%. 39.9% had
weekly off, while 57.4% did not. This was as
they were on contract or temporary, hence they
did not take off during their contract period.

Percentages of respondents who reported

other facilities were as follows-
toilet(98%),drinking water(100%),washing
facilities(87.2%),rest
room(88.5%),crèches(73%),lunch
room(98%),work breaks(100%).
Almost 98% of workers reported that their
factory managements had a health and Safety
Committee and safety officer, though they did
not perceive any serious safety hazard in their
workplaces.

About 40.5% said that their managements had

set up Committee for preventing sexual
harassment in their workplaces, with a woman
heading the committee. However,91.2% of
them said that they had not perceived any case
of sexual harassment that needed action by the
committee, though one respondent reported
being harassed at work by her supervisor. She
too did not envisage taking any action to
redress her complaint, and said that she
reported to her supervisor, who handled it
discreetly. Most workers appeared to have
cordial working relationship with their immediate
supervisors.

Training-
Though 26.4% said they did not have
any training at workplace, and 38.5% did not
respond at all, 35.1% reported to have received
training at their workplace. Besides,91.2% were
aware of training facilities available in the city.
Table 15)
Table No. 1: Training

Answer Frequenc Percent

y
N.R. 57 38.5
Yes 52 35.1
No 39 26.4

Total 148 100.0

However, during interviews they mentioned that
they had neither the extra money to pay for the
training, nor the time to take break from work,
as all these courses were held during the day
time. There were extremely rare cases where
the employer sponsored the courses and were
gracious enough to allow the worker to take a
break for the required skill training.
INTRVIEWS WITH THE
BRANDS/RETAILORS
Eight global brands responded to a questionnaire sent to them.

They responded on their experiences in ensuring compliances on

labour standards among their suppliers in India.
Though this was collected for a
separate study on contract labour in RMG industry, also conducted by
the AILS, it was felt that it would provide interesting inputs to
understand the overall working of the industry as it has evolved in the
present set-up. Some relevant portions are reproduced here.

Positive changes in the working places of suppliers, as a result of

compliance standards being enforced-1

2
3 a. Wages/salaries
4b. Hours of work
5c. Work place condition
6d. Application and adoption of legislations
7e. Overtime/shifts
8f. Absenteeism
9g. Labour Turnover
10 h. Protection of workers’ rights.
11 i. Contract workers

All the brand retailers stated that there is a positive change at ground
level due to awareness created by multiple stake holders including
the Brands. Initially they found that many suppliers did not have the
basic requirements as time but eventually the BSCI standard can be
reached by all suppliers and their sub-contractors.
1
2
3
4
 5
6
7
8
9 a. Minimum Wages are guaranteed with timely and transparent
payment procedures. Wages at a minimum wage level is a first
request and has to be met. However they still find some suppliers
who do not meet this level and need to upgrade.
10
b. Most retailers opined that working hours are very much
controlled and mostly within allowed limits. However, they were also
aware that hours of work / overtime / shifts is a difficult subject to
improve, and they have many suppliers where workers work more
than 60 hr/week. They are also aware of the link between buying
practices and working time, but admitted that they do not actively
work with that principle yet.

11 c. Basic health and safety conditions are improved in a big way.

Work places conditions are often a problem found during audits, but
also get improved on a big scale. Improved worksite safety, especially
fire safety, machine safety, d. Legislation being adopted more readily
and suppliers are mostly in compliance with all applicable laws.
Application & adoption of legislation is a general issue in all producing
countries, this is why even BSCI audit results show non-compliances.
This is not something we can change as a retailer.

12
13 e. Due to control on working hours, overtime work is also
controlled and shift culture has started. Reduction in overtime if was
excessive, and improved systems giving workers right to decline is
observed. Increased attention is being paid to ensure better work
hours management.
14 first aid, exits, etc. are observed.
15
16 f. Absenteeism is still a challenge but has improved over the
years. So also labour turnover which has also improved over the
years.

The BSCI does not specifically look at labour turnover; however, it

might be noticed during an audit and written down in the audit report.
One retailer reported observing reduction in worker turnover but has
not yet seen documented evidence in India

g. Workers have become aware and they are aware of their rights
and privileges.
1
2 Workers’ rights definitely get improved in many companies,
especially after the CAP advises the management how to proceed.

3 However, this is a difficult issue to really convince the

management. Better protection of rights given workers have contracts
if did not have before or more legally compliant contracts.

4 Increased worker awareness of rights from posting of ETP, local

law, and worker awareness built in interviews (and hope in trainings
in future).
 Scope
The Garment Industry at the Global and Regional Level

A serious restricting started in the late 1960s in the global garment

industry. The growth in the product prices and above all the labour
price in the developed countries forced a number of firms to relocate
their production through subcontracting contracts.
The distribution of labour-intensive garment introduction on world
scale depends primarily on the labour price. Which is the most
variable and geographically depends parts of production costs.

In 1990s some changes took place also in the European economic

environment. The integration of Western European nations was
enhanced in view of creating a single European market.

Three factors determine the world tendencies in the garment industry:

the exacerbated competition. Trade liberalization, and the newly

emerging transforming economics of the eastern European countries.
This industry is internationalized and depends on subcontracting
contracts. At the same time it is characterized also by one of the
lowest levels of the remuneration, a low share of labour in the end
product price, high labour-intensity and violation of labour standards.
This deterioration of working condition will probably grow at the end of
the period of validity of the Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA), when there
will be strong competition for satisfying the world market. Probably,
the expiry of the MFA will enhance the processes through which
powerful companies use international differences in the pay and the
working condition to maximize their profit.
5
 SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE
READYMADE GARMENT
INDUSTRY
Strength:
Attributes of the person or company that are helpful to achieving
the objectives.

1. Abundant raw material

2. Low cost skilled labour

3. Presence across the value chain

4. Growing domestic market

5. Strong backward integration

6. Third largest cotton producer as well a the largest area

under cultivation

7. Increasing presence across entire value chain

8. Cheap and skilled manpower

9. Sharp reduction in borrowing costs

10. Recent government efforts to promote the industry

Weakness:

Attributes of the person or company that are harmful

to achieving the objectives

1. Fragmented industry

2. Effect of historical govt policies

3. Lower productivity and cost competitiveness

4. Tech obsolescence. Quality is not consistent

5. Caters mainly to the low-end class.

6. Low level of training.

7. The export-import policy of India changes too frequently due to

which it becomes very difficult for importers to import goods.

8. Delay in delivering the goods at the right time.

9. Lack of economies of scale and advance processing capabilities.

OPPORTUNITIES:

External condition that are helpful to achieving the objectives.

1. Huge demand for value added goods in all major countries.

2. Relocation from high cost economies.

3. Large and relatively untapped domestic market

4. Large Indian Expatriate community. Hence there is large

demand for Indian Garments.

5. Rate of import duties is minimal.

6. Bilateral Agreements on Avoidance of Double Taxation and

Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income and
capital have further opened the opportunity for higher export for
the garment sector.

Threats:

External condition which could do damage to the objectives

Competition in domestic market:

Competition will not only increasing in international or export market

but also in domestic market. With removal of cap on non export
sector, large textile mills are stepping into domestic hosiery sector.
For example

Alok Industries Ltd - India’s largest textile mill has put up state of the
art knitting plant for producing hosiery goods. In times to come, more
and more textile firms are likely to enter hosiery sector to tap this
market.
Also, there is threat of imports of cheap hosiery products from
countries like China and Bangladesh. India is already importing
cheap woven garments from China. In times to come, hosiery
products may be imported from China.

Ecological and social awareness:

In last few years developed markets have seen extensive

development in the for of increased consciousness on issues such as
use of polluting dyes, usage of child labor, unhealthy working
conditions.
This is putting pressure on industry to follow international labor and
environmental laws.

Regional alliances:
 Regional trading blocs plays very influential role in international trade
in the form of preferential duty structure.
For example Mexico having free trade agreement (FTA) with US and
Canada has edge over India and China. This will continue to
dominate the international trade equation even in the times to come.

Conclusions
The objective of the study was to map the socio-economic
characteristics, skills, and organisational needs of the workers in two
readymade garment centres, where service centres are proposed to
be set up.

The two target centres were Mumbai and Bangalore, where a random
sample of 146 and 96 workers respectively, were interviewed using
an interview schedule. Visits were also made to the industry
associations, trade unions, and government training institutions in the
two cities.

The study shows distinct differences in the demographic profile of the

two centres. In Bangalore, women were a majority, while in Mumbai;
it was a 60:30 ratio of men and women.
In Mumbai, the age-group was also young, and mostly below 40
years, while in Bangalore, almost all respondents were below 40.
Consequently perhaps, there were more married respondents (since
it was an all female sample) in the Bangalore sample as compared to
Mumbai sample. On the other hand, the women in Mumbai were
more educated and had secondary school education, while in
Bangalore, along with educated workers, there were also illiterate
workers, who were also unskilled.

It must be mentioned here that all the factories where the survey was
conducted, were large units that were suppliers to international
brands, though they did have contract workers, as the data indicate.
However, the managements always said they had all permanent
workers except for security and housekeeping; what it actually meant
was that they recruited the workers through contractors on a regular
basis, and provided them with all benefits due to permanent workers
such as provident fund, ESI, maternity benefits, etc. in efforts to retain
them. As stated by Rajendra Hinduja, Managing Director of Gokaldas
Exports, Bangalore, “shortage of skilled labour is the most frustrating
factor in our business. We send our staff to the villages in search of
workers and bring them here in buses; we have opened units in rural
areas, all in attempts to recruit workers and retain them.”
 Recommendations

1 There is a definite need for a more in-depth study on the

conditions of small-scale units in RMG centres, where the true
problems of workers lie. As observed in
2
3 Bangalore and Mumbai, as units consolidate and expand their scale
of operations, global compliance standards compel them to adopt
somewhat decent wages and working conditions. However, they try to
compensate for their rise in costs through other cost-cutting
measures, which are not observed during the third party audits that
the retailers undertake.

4
5 The workers are low on awareness regarding workers rights as
human rights. Service centres will do well to conduct regular
awareness programmes on issues such as these.
6
7 On the other hand, they can also address the most important issue
that employers complain about, i.e. work discipline among workers.
Workers are quite aware of the demand for their labour during peak
season, Hence, it was often seen that even as they are employed as
permanent workers in one unit, when they hear (through their own
information sources) of another unit looking for workers to work night
shifts, they take unpaid leave from their own factory to earn extra
income during the period, causing distress to their employers. Or
else, they quit one company to join another that pays minimally more,
and return when they are not happy, quite aware that they will be
taken back, as there is always a demand for them! Such stories were
quite common in both centres.
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
 16
17 It was the irony of government training centres who stated that
their courses go empty, employers need skilled workers, but the
workers are not able to take training due to their work. If for instance
the proposed WSCs can persuade the employers to give workers
paid leave for training, perhaps the workers will be motivated to join
training in special skills that fetch them more wages!
18
19 The centres can also provide the workers with other support
services that make their lives easier in the city. This may include
guidance / advice in the areas of family welfare, health, children
education, family budgeting etc. Case studies appended in
Annexure IV are illustrative of the various needs of workers which
can be met through industry-specific service centres set up for them
 ANNEXURE
ANALYSING AND INTERPRETATION

Q1) what you like most in Tee Enterprise?

A) Your job
B) Colleagues in your department
C) The Company
D) Any Others

50
45
40
35
30
25 20%
20 10%
15
10 60%
5 10%
0
your job colleagues the any other
in your company
department

Interpretation:

From the above graph, we find that 20% of the employees like their
job, 10% of the employees colleagues in their department, 60% of
the employees like the company and 10% of the employees like any
other things in the company.
 Q2) I am satisfied with my department’s efficiency
and productivity.
1. Strongly agree
2. Somewhat agree
3. Neutral

50
40
30 60%
20 30%
10% 10%
10
0 60%
strongly neutral
agree

Interpretation:
From the above graph we find that 60% of the employees are
satisfied with their department’s efficiency and productivity,
30% are somewhat agree and 10% are neutral.

Q3) I have all the information required for performing well in

my job.
1. Strongly agree
2. Somewhat agree
3. Neutral

60
50
40 30%
30 60%
20 10%
10
0

r
e re
e t
al
e r

y g t g ne
u
la
ng w
a a

to e h
s m
o

Finding:

From the above graph we find that 30% of the employees have
all the information required for performing well in their job, 60%
are somewhat agree and 10% are neutral .

Q4) Employees in my department are aware of its

operations and the contribution that they make towards the
company’s success.
 1. Strongly agree
2. Somewhat agree
3. Neutral

80
70
60
50
40 65%
30 25%
20 10%

10
0
strongly somewhat neutral
agree agree

Finding:

From the above graph we find that 65% are strongly agree, 25% are
somewhat agree and 10% are neutral about that the employees in
the department are aware of its operations and contributions that
they make towards the company

Q5) Considering all the aspects, what is your level of

satisfaction with the job?
 1. Very satisfied
2. Satisfied
3. Somewhat satisfied

60
40 30%
10% 60%
20
10%
0 30%
very somewhat
satisfied satisfied

Finding:

From the above graph we find that 30% are very satisfied, 60% are
satisfied and 10% are neutral for considering the level of
satisfaction with the job.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
-WWW.SCRIBD.COM

-WWW.STUDYMODE.COM

-WWW.PROJECTPARADISE.COM