Femnet e.V.

Mothers and children in factories

In order to protect mothers and children in the world of work, there is paid maternity protection in almost all countries of the world and in some countries even the legal requirement for the employer to provide childcare facilities in the workplace. India and Bangladesh are among these countries, but implementation is often catastrophic.

For example, the childcare facilities in the factories - if there are any at all - are usually inadequate in terms of quality and capacity, although they are required by law. The lack of care facilities for children under the age of 6 poses enormous difficulties for working mothers and places an additional great burden on them. Many children have no chance of early childhood education or developmental opportunities.

Most often, women stop working after birth, as this is the only way to take care of the children, given the hard work and insufficient childcare. But many are falling even deeper into poverty. If mothers are not financially able to stop working, even the smallest children remain at home alone or are supervised by older siblings who neglect school. But children who stay at home are often called upon to work at home and help, for example, with sewing sequins. In the end, they too soon end up in the factories instead of in school and education.

In addition, the lack of medical care and implementation of maternity protection laws pose existential problems for pregnant workers and young mothers. By law, workers in India have been entitled to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave since April 2017, up from just 12 weeks before. Trade unions and non-governmental organizations, however, fear that pregnant workers will now be forced out of their jobs by factory owners and management to save costs.

Study results from Bangalore

Trade unions are not sufficiently committed to setting up care facilities and implementing maternity protection laws, as they lack the knowledge and skills to do so. Workers have the right to form trade unions (Trade Union Act 1926), but factory management is not legally obliged to recognise works councils or trade unions within their premises. Accordingly, there is almost no factory union for textile workers in Bangalore with which textile workers could claim their labour rights.

Study 2017: Childcare Facilities and Maternity Benefits in Bangalore’s Export-Oriented Apparel Industry

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The results of the 2017 study clearly show that our work to date has had an impact: 20 factories supplying 10 major international brand companies were examined: H&M, C&A, Levi's, Adidas, Marc O'Polo, Primark, Bestseller, Zalando (Zlabels), Cecil GMBH and H.I.S. Textil. There was indeed a nativity scene in all 20 factories, but many of the problems identified in previous studies persist, including:

• Age restrictions exclude infants and children over the age of four, so many women are still forced to quit work or the children are at risk due to lack of care.
• There is a lack of adequate equipment with toys, learning materials, food and qualified staff.
• Mothers are sometimes called away from work to wrap children or the like.
• Maternity protection is insufficiently implemented: 70% of workers report that an unpaid extension of maternity leave was hardly possible despite legal regulations or that they feared termination of the employment relationship.
• The majority of factories do not provide medical pre- and post-care for pregnant workers, although this is required by law.

Study 2015: Needs Assessment for Childcare Facilities in Bangalore's Garment Industry

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Download the German version (PDF file)

The needs analysis from October 2015, which was prepared as part of the pilot project 2015, provides further background information on the childcare situation in Indian textile factories. Examined were supplier factories that manufacture in Bangalore for H&M and C&A.

Clothing industry in Bangalore: Problematic conditions for women and mothers

Cividep protests in May 2016. © CividepWith approximately 1,200 apparel factories, Bangalore is now one of the centers for the apparel industry in India. The factories involved in our nursery project exemplify the problems of the entire region: Very high production rates, no living wages, repeated discrimination and sometimes even sexual harassment of the workers. The lack of childcare and sufficient maternity protection are the main reasons for the high turnover of workers in the factories, as almost 90% of the workers in the textile sector are women between the ages of 18 and 40 - i.e. belong to a correspondingly reproductive age group. Most workers are young women with low levels of education from poor, rural areas.

The minimum wage for textile workers in Karnataka (with the capital Bangalore) is about 71 euros (Asia Floor Wage calculates a living wage of 195 euros for Bangalore). The exact wages that the workers are entitled to are concealed from them and the payment of wages is often made with great delay. Many women have to work extra (poor or unpaid) overtime, take on other jobs or go into debt. Anyone who refuses to work overtime must expect to be dismissed.

The workload is very high due to the scheduling pressure of the ordering fashion brands, the required quotas hardly manageable. Manufacturers usually do not check whether their suppliers comply with the legal requirements for maternity protection and childcare.