India has been the second largest producer of footwear after China for many years. In 2014, India produced 2,065 million pairs of shoes equivalent to 8.5% of the total world production. There are more than 1 million people engaged in the Indian footwear industry. Leather footwear is by far the most important product for the Indian footwear industry, both in terms of production and export.

The Society for Labour and Development, New Delhi and the SüdwindInstitut, Bonn, published a study on workers’ rights violations in two different regions: Ambur in South India, and Agra in North India. The study shows that workers in Ambur survive in relatively better conditions than in Agra by reaping the historical gains of a vibrant trade union movement – now well past its peak. In this context, recent labour law reforms materialize to supply a flexible labour force for global finance capital. It seems to become increasingly difficult for workers to remember themselves as bearers of human rights. Such a condition is already presenting itself in the case of the workers in Agra. Therefore, having supplied the numbers of rights violations, this study aims to do justice to the working people of the Indian leather and footwear industry in foregrounding their voices to narrate their own stories.

Access the full study and the factsheet below.

Walk a mile in their shoes (factsheet)
Walk a mile in their shoes (full report)