Category: Business & Human Rights
Reel of the Year: Workers Step into the Spotlight
Cividep’s 2024 Annual Report highlights a year of deepening worker engagement, advocacy, and digital empowerment. From social media training for electronics sector workers in Tamil Nadu to large-scale community events and policy-driven research, the report showcases efforts to amplify worker voices, promote fair labour practices, and drive systemic change. As India’s manufacturing sector grows, Cividep continues to bridge the gap between economic progress and worker realities, ensuring access to knowledge, networks, and advocacy for better working conditions.
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Can Dialogue Make a Difference?
Can structured dialogue improve workplace relationships in garment factories? Cividep India’s pilot project facilitated discussions between workers and management in Karnataka, uncovering key challenges like power asymmetry and lack of worker representation. While some positive outcomes emerged, sustaining dialogue requires long-term commitment from brands, factory management, and policymakers. Read on to explore the lessons learned and recommendations for fostering meaningful workplace dialogue.
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What 2024 Taught Us About Worker Voices and Stakeholder Engagement
Cividep India, now in its 24th year, continues to champion ethical labour practices and improved working conditions across global supply chains. In 2024, the organisation marked significant milestones, including the launch of the Workers’ Observatory, a platform amplifying worker voices, and the release of The Home & The World of Work, a report on gender and labour in Karnataka’s apparel industry. With initiatives spanning garment, electronics, and leather sectors, Cividep combines research, advocacy, and community engagement to address issues like low wages, exploitative conditions, and human rights risks. Looking ahead, Cividep remains committed to driving meaningful change for workers across industries.
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7 Worker Stories from 2024 That Reveal the Realities of Our Workplaces
In 2024, stories from women workers revealed the harsh realities of their workplaces, from exploitation and fear to resilience and solidarity. Cividep India, working with thousands of low-wage women workers across garments, leather, electronics, and plantations, brought these voices to light. Amid challenges like production torture, shopfloor abuse, and financial precarity, workers are finding their voices, advocating for fair treatment, and building collective strength. These powerful accounts highlight the urgent need for systemic change and celebrate moments of hope and resistance.
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Yet Another Space for Workers’ Stories? Here’s Why This One Matters
Yet Another Space for Workers’ Stories? Here’s Why This One Matters. Discover the Lives Behind the Labels Through Workers’ Observatory — Cividep’s New Digital Space. Beneath the glamour and affordability of fast fashion lies an intricate web of labour, where thousands of garment workers, mostly women, spend long hours crafting the designs we see on store racks. Yet, their stories — of struggle, resilience, and sacrifice — are rarely told. Cividep India’s new initiative, the Worker’s Observatory, gives us a much-needed look into their world, offering a platform for workers’ voices and using research and data to highlight the inequities deeply embedded in the industry.
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184 Women, Two Years, One Story of Labour: Report Documents The Reality of Karnataka’s Garment Workers
Cividep recently launched The Home & The World Of Work report and a documentary that capture the harsh realities of Karnataka’s women garment workers at the Bangalore International Centre. The report, based on interviews with 184 women garment workers over two years, paints a disturbing picture of the industry’s practices.
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Field Diary August 2024
 A Glance Into The Lives Of Workers With Bite-Sized Stories From Factories, Homes & Communities. Workers At Le Shoe Factory Workers In Ambur Share How They Are Coping With Unbearable Summer Heat In Factories. Meanwhile Several Garment Workers In Bengaluru Report Facing Penalties For Taking Legitimate Leave. Also Read How A Team Of Garment Workers Creatively Brainstormed Solutions To Common Occupational Health And Workplace Issues At A Workshop.Â
Read MoreField Diary July 2024
 A Glance Into The Lives Of Workers With Bite-Sized Stories From Factories, Homes & Communities. Workers At Le Shoe Factory Workers In Ambur Share How They Are Coping With Unbearable Summer Heat In Factories. Meanwhile Several Garment Workers In Bengaluru Report Facing Penalties For Taking Legitimate Leave. Also Read How A Team Of Garment Workers Creatively Brainstormed Solutions To Common Occupational Health And Workplace Issues At A Workshop.Â
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The Rise of Garment Worker Leaders in Bengaluru
A Cividep-Azim Premji Foundation program empowered Bengaluru garment workers. Over three years, 600 workers gained leadership and communication skills, enabling them to fight for better pay, working conditions, and healthcare. Worker Resource Centers provided support and education, fostering solidarity and replacing fear with confidence. This program not only created leaders but also improved mental wellbeing through access to counselling.
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Field Diary June 2024
A Glance Into The Lives Of Workers With Bite-Sized Stories From Factories, Homes & Communities. A Health Screening Camp Organised For Garment Workers In Bengaluru Reveals A High Prevalence Of Vitamin D Deficiency And Anemia. Meanwhile Cividep’s Partner NGOs Organised Summer Camps For Children Of Garment Workers. Also Read Field Notes From A Cividep – India Labourline Team’s Interactions With Low-Wage Workers Employed In The Industrial Estates of Chennai.
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How Can Workers Benefit from Business & Human Rights Standards?
Confused by Business & Human Rights (BHR)? This blog cuts through the jargon and explains how BHR standards hold businesses accountable for worker well-being. Learn how these standards can be used to create positive change. Explore the new handbook by Cividep India and UNDP that equips worker collectives and labour organisations to leverage BHR for better working conditions across global supply chains.
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Field Diary May 2024
This issue of Field Diary delves into inspiring stories of worker empowerment and solidarity across industries. A Cividep -India Labourline team rescued expolited migrant workers at a mill in Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile Worker Education Enabled Electronics Workers in Tamil Nadu In Accessing their Right To Health Protection , While Leather Homeworkers Stood Together To Demand Fair Pay. Also Read Learnings From A Cividep Team Conducting In-Factory Research on Occupational Health of Its Garment Workers.
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