‘Delay in implementing wage revision is wage theft, it is pushing garment workers into poverty'

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Unable to get their wages revised for the past eight years, garment sector employees throughout the state are planning a campaign to demand a hike in their minimum wages.

According to the Garment and Textile Workers Union (GATWU) frustration among garment workers in the state has been growing since the government’s proposal of a minimum wage revision during 2018 from Rs 8,346 to Rs 12,250 per month was withdrawn within a month after intense lobbying from the employers.

Since then, there has been no progress and the workers are losing money due to the government’s inaction. The garment industry is one of the major industries in the state which has about four lakh workers, 80 percent of whom are women, the workers said.

GATWU president Pratibha R said that the workers are currently being paid Rs 10,441 which is the lowest of any state in the country and the lowest for scheduled industry workers in the state. She also said that after the proposal was withdrawn, the workers had approached the High Court which had issued an order terming the government’s withdrawal as illegal.

The High Court had also instructed the government to issue the final notification ordering an increase in the wages of the workers. “Garment workers in Karnataka face enormous hardships. Delaying the wage hike is not the way to promote women’s empower ment. Who will compensate us for the loss we have incurred after the withdrawn proposal?

Delay in implementing wage revision is wage theft, and it is pushing workers into poverty. We demand that the government immediately announces and implements the wage revision,” added Pratibha. In a circular issued by the GATWU, the workers alleged that the management of the garment industries has been vigorously lobbying with the government every time the minimum wage is to be revised and unfortunately the government has been working on behalf of the management.

As a part of the agitation demanding an increase in minimum wages for garment workers, GATWU will be distributing pamphlets, carrying out a postcard campaign, and holding factory-level meetings and protests as well as at the Freedom Park, Pratibha R said.