GARMENT FACTORIES | Mike Byrne

Cividep is a Bangalore based NGO whos interest lies in representing workers’ rights and fighting for corporate accountability. They are a small team of people that are doing some important work. Bangalore is host to hundreds of garment factories for some of the UK’s most popular brand names. Although Western consumers have put pressure on clothing manufacturers to improve health and safety within the factories the treatment of the workers is still major concern. This gallery features women that have lost children, been subject to terrible sexual harassment and some children that have been orphaned due to such harassment. The treatment of the men and women that work there is Cividep’s main priority as they fight for their basic human rights. Please visit their website to learn more about their work. Please visit www.CIVIDEP.org for more information.

Many thanks to all of the factory workers and the team at Cividep for helping to make this series of images.


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Most of the women working in these factories are married.  When they finish their shifts they must return home to carry out their chores as wives and mothers.

			
			
			
			
Two women had recently been killed by the factory bus.  Very little compensation was paid to their families.

			
			
The garment workers are starting to form unions in order to represent their own interests.  These are quickly growing in popularity and most meet at night after their long shifts in the factories.

			
			
This heavily pregnant woman with a young child has just finished her shift at a garment factory.

			
			
This woman went into labour on the production line.  Her floor manager would not let her leave the factory until she had met her quota for the day.  She was eventually allowed to go but was simply left in the lane outside of the factory.  There she gave birth to her child.  After dragging herself to the nearest road she managed to hail a rickshaw driver to take her to hospital.  Her child had died outside of the factory.  No compensation was paid.

			
			
These young boys were orphaned when their mother committed suicide on a factory production line.

			
			
She faced such severe sexual harrassment from her manager that she hung herself.

			
			
The boys now live with their grandmother.  They did receive a small amount of compensation and the manager was sacked from his job.