Istarted photographing the garment workers in Bangalore outside their factory space — mostly in the hours before and after work — in June 2012. One of the most exploitative industries in India, the minimum wage for employees here is ₹4,472 per month — hardly enough to support a family in a metro city. And this when the industry is valued at more than $55 billion; Bangalore alone saw a turnover of over ₹2,000 crore last year.
Women constitute 80 per cent of the total workforce in the industry. While many of them are from surrounding villages and commute to work daily by trains, a significant number has moved to the city to cut travel time and costs.
Abirami (name changed on request), who works in a factory in Ansipalya, once told me that they are not allowed to take leave no matter how compelling the reason. If they do, the day they return to work, they are asked to wait outside. “They abuse us, call us b*****s, donkeys, and tell us to go die. Supervisors constantly harass us and even throw things at us... Would you believe that I didn’t know the meaning of sexual harassment until I joined a union? I thought it was a norm in factories, so I remained silent for several years without ever questioning it.”
Most of the garment workers in Bangalore stitch at home after hours, work as domestic helps, make garlands, papads, or do other odd jobs, to supplement their wages. In a city where inflation has affected everyone, where prices of commodities have increased sharply like elsewhere in the country, survival is an everyday battle.
(Rudra is a Bangalore-based photographer)