Excerpt from the Article:
Building upon more than ten years of advocacy by Cividep-India, Fair Labor Association (FLA) commissioned this study into the provision and quality of legally mandated childcare in Bangalore’s garment factories.
The study was initiated on a simple premise: that quality childcare is a necessity, not just for the safety and security of the children, but for the stable growth of an industry besieged by heavy labor turnover among women – who constitute the bulk of the workforce.
This study is based on a survey of 300 women workers employed at 60 garment manufacturing factories. The survey was conducted in February and March 2012 by leaders of the women’s organization Munnade and the all-women Garment Labor Union (GLU). The survey findings suggest a number of factors inhibiting women from using crèche facilities where they exist, and that age restrictions imposed by the factories exclude many children under the age of six who are left unsupervised or with inadequate care….