Women Workers From Garment Industry Paint Bangalore ‘Red’

Report By Saloni Kumari |Edited by Noor Zahira Mount Carmel College Student
Bengaluru | Last Updated at May 02 2019

The rally mainly focused upon better wages and the humiliation the women
workers face during work hours.
Bangalore: Morning of May 1, the flyover near Kanteerava Studio in Bangalore
looked like it had been painted red because of the women protest that took
place.
Clad in red sarees and holding red flags, lots of women workers from the
garment industry in the city took to the streets to carry out a protest rally to
demand a raise in their minimum wages.
There are around 1,200 garment units in Bangalore which employ around 4.5
lakh workers.
In Karnataka, these garment workers get paid a minimum wage of around Rs
8,000 a month – 25% below the urban poverty line of Rs 10,800 a month,
based on the Rangarajan Committee report.
“With Rs 8,000 each month, I have to manage house rent, my child’s school
fees among other household expenditures,” Nalina, a garment worker told that
she came to this city ten years ago in search of a better employment which
she did get but with a very low wage.
She further added that she thought her living standards was going to improve
after getting employed at the garment factory and remarked here “I am on
May 1, ready to begin yet another march to demand what is actually my right.”