Maid in India
Young Dalit Women Continue to Suffer Exploitative Conditions in India’s Garment Industry
bySOMO - Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations
ICN - India Committee of the Netherlands
April 2012
European and US garment brands and retailers have failed in their attempts to improve labour conditions across the board at their suppliers in Tamil Nadu, South India. Despite corporate promises and a range of well-meaning initiatives workers, mostly very young women, continue to suffer exploitative working conditions. Up till today, thousands of women in the garment and textile industry in Tamil Nadu work under recruitment and employment schemes that amount to bonded labour.
These are the findings by SOMO and ICN presented in the report “Maid in India”, published April 25, 2012.