There
are about 20,000 home-based readymade workers in Gujarat. 75 percent
are women. With the government's new export policies with regard
to cotton yarn, it has become very expensive for workers in this
industry. They expected to bear the costs of the threads for sewing,
which they can no longer afford. Consequently, many workers have
taken up other employment including sewing in factories and agarbatti
rolling.
In
addition, the demand for the petticoats sewed by our members is
no longer as great. Instead, there is a growing market for jeans,
home furnishings, shorts, hosiery and other garments. SEWA helped
some workers obtain employment in factories sewing jeans. Others
have found new employment in export-oriented factories on the
outskirts of Ahmedabad. Thus our traditional membership base has
become somewhat eroded. We are reviewing and readjusting our organising
strategies for these workers.
