Category: Business & Human Rights
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.
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.
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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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Field Diary March 2024
This issue of Field Diary delves into inspiring stories of worker solidarity across industries. While a homeworkers’ collective in Tamil Nadu’s leather industry is challenging unfair wages, garment factory workers in Bengaluru address issues in accessing social security claims. We also see electronics factory workers responding to exploitation by dubious contractors.
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What’s In The 2023 Field Diary? Worker Stories of Struggles & Hope
A roundup of Cividep 2023 field diary stories that provide a glance into worker lives with bite-sized stories from the factory, household, worker communities, and more.
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Field Diary October 2023
This issue of Field Diary explores how workers continue facing mounting challenges across industries. In the garment sector, many workers are increasingly shifting to piece rate work due to flexible schedules and better earnings. Electronics workers in Sriperumbudur grapple with layoffs and lack of permanent employment. Meanwhile, Cividep’s partner organisations continue to encourage the spirit of worker solidarity through new ways such as building more compact alliances of workers through SHGs.
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Operationalising Labour Rights Project Tracks Social Life of Grievances in Garment Factories
Key insights from Cardiff University & Cividep India’s research on labour rights and access to remedy in Bangalore’s garment industry were presented at a recent conference. Operationalising Labour Rights (OLR) Project, a collaborative initiative by WISERD, Cardiff Business School, and Cividep, uncovers workplace struggles, and highlights role of research in seeking change and empowering workers
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