A sample survey conducted by Bangalore University states that nearly 80 per cent of those employed in garment factories in Bengaluru are migrants from districts and villages whose customary source of livelihood has been methodologically destroyed. The findings of the survey by the Allampalli Venkataram Chair on Labour Research of the university were released on Friday. The report states that 63.4 per cent of the workers surveyed belonged to backward classes and were from farming families. A majority of them are between 21 and 30 years old, and most of them are educated only till 10th standard or Pre University.
Women make up a very high percentage of the workforce — 72.8 per cent. Most of the workers are from Bengaluru Urban, Rural, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Tumkur and Ramanagar. The survey, which collated data from 2,000 garment workers, states that 76.4 per cent of the migrant workers visit their villages often thus making this a “circulating” labour force.
Most of the workers are on daily wages and their income does not allow them to acquire any permanent assets like a durable business, a land site, or any other dependable source of income. The report says the health of the garment workers is at risk. Since their income does not allow them to access health care in private hospitals, they are forced to access sub-standard medical treatment provided by government hospitals, making their health very precarious. However, most of the workers said that the companies they work for help them in case of medical emergency. Nearly 73 per cent of the people who were surveyed stated that they were under increasing work pressure and had to work under constant pressure to meet hourly targets.