"Cumbers, Andrew; Featherstone, David; MacKinnon, Danny; Ince, Anthony; Strauss, Kendra"

“Today, a pandemic. Tomorrow, a natural disaster, a chemical spill or some. There’s always some disruption around the corner. So for as long as informal jobs are the norm in our economy and as long as we cannot practically lockdown the entire country, the way ahead is to install measures to improve social security. State and society cannot throw up their hands in helplessness or stay blind to variations in vulnerability among informal workers. It must facilitates through dialogues in policy, academia and other spheres. There is no single solution, especially not just direct monetary transfers. The government’s advisories about restricting social contact are indeed important but such measures are economically risky for so many who face a choice between the devil and the deep-sea. Social distancing is impractical for the tens of millions without social security.”

“On November 20, the issued a notification allowing women to work night shifts in all factories registered under the Factories Act, 1948. In principle, this is a welcome move. However, several concerns have been voiced by women garment workers who are estimated to constitute over 90% of the five garment workers in Karnataka . The amendment suggests that night shifts for women will only be allowed if the employer ensures adequate safeguards concerning occupational safety and health, protection of dignity and honour, and transportation from the factory premises to points nearest to the worker’s residence. The amendment stipulates 24 points related to occupational rules and regulations, most of which have been in existence for years. Yet, women workers fear that when there is no safety or dignity in the workplace even during daytime, how will employers ensure all this during night shifts?”

“Optimism with regard to labour as an agency of has been replaced by pessimism that sees little prospect of workers acting on their own behalf.”

“Trade unions do not consider workers from smaller units as workers in the formal sense, or they often cannot access workers inside special industrial zones, behind walls of security. Workers too sometimes do not accept the unions even as they find themselves vulnerable. But if they find their existence is under threat, they will come out and protest. Workers' issues get space if things turn violent. Here, for instance, if the women workers had simply come out of the factories and sat on a, they would not have got so much television coverage.”

“In a sector where there is systemic failure and worker-management relations are turbulent, putting the onus of worker safety and security in the hands of the management alone can be risky. Moreover, it is well-known that in supply chains the brands call the shots. Involving them in discussions on worker dignity and equality is important. Omitting workers and trade unions from discussions about the amendment is also seen by the workers as a short-sighted measure. Women garment workers are concerned that while the amendment has stipulated many ‘new’ guidelines amidst the plethora of unaddressed concerns, allowing night shifts would only extend daytime exploitation.”

“Neethi Padmanabhan's profile at Indian Institute for Human Settlements”