Stakeholders Consultation on Good Practices Manual for Indian Apparel Units

Ashok G. Rajani, Chairman, AEPC, opened the meeting and indicated that many good practices have no or low-cost implications. If the costs are calculated vis-à-vis productivity gains, they can be considered negligible. S. Gupta, Joint Secretary (Exports), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, touched upon recent Government initiatives to improve exports in this sector. He assured full support from the Ministry of Textiles for this AEPC/ILO initiative.

Anuja Bapat, Director, Ministry of Labour & Employment, spoke about the linkages between workplace cooperation productivity, and sustainable development. She also touched upon the discussions around global supply chains.

Sher Verick, Deputy Director of the ILO Decent Work Team for South Asia and Country Office for India, stressed on the linkages between productivity and working conditions. He spoke of the importance of this sector due to its sheer scale and contribution to the economy. He pointed out that the sector has enormous potential for growth and employment generation, especially for women.

Representatives from government, prominent brands, buying houses, suppliers and civil society organizations were part of this consultation. Stakeholders provided valuable inputs for the practices that need to be covered in the manual.

Camilla Roman, Technical Expert, ILO Geneva, presented the global RMG sector practices and the initial list of practices for the Indian apparel units for feedback. This was followed by an interactive discussion.