The workers of garment industry have to face extremely difficult conditions. A large part of this industry comes under unorganised sector and the factory owners impose numerous restrictions on the workers. For instance, the wokers are made to work on piece rate basis and are not paid even the minimum wages. Whereas, as per the law, the owner of a factory has to take out an insurance policy for the workers, if the number of workers exceed 10, and the workers are entitled to various other facilities as a matter of right, the factory owners try to destroy any evidence that such laws are applicable to their workers; they use every means to prove that these workers are not under regular employment. The owners use various means to deprive the workers of their rights and the workers are forced to wok under conditions of extreme exploitation.

However, the garment workers are getting organised and waging struggle to change these conditions. The workers of Tomma Exports Company located on Reay road had dared to demand their rights and protest work stoppage by the management. In the month of January 2007, the workers staged a demonstration at the factory gate under the leadership of Ladaku Garment Kamgaar Union. The factory owner was forced to take back the workers and agreed to compensate for the loss of wages due to stoppage of work. However, on the day the workers were to join he refused to keep his word. On February 5, the workers along with comrades from Kamgaar Ekta Chalwal again staged a demonstration at the factory gate. The management people ran away from the factory and called the police. The police reached the venue in two vans to intimidate the workers, who were not more than 30-40. The workers did not retreat, and continued their demonstration.

The case of Radium Ink factory is also similar, where the owners want to move the workers from regular job to piece rate system. The owner has thrown out many workers as they have refused to work on piece rate. The owner is also angry that the workers have dared to organise and demand their rights. These workers decided to join Ladaku Garment Kamgaar Union and comrades from LGKU distributed leaflets at the gate informing all workers about the machinations of the factory owners against the workers and appealed to them to organise in the union to fight for their rights and against the atrocities of the factory owner. The workers decided to unite in the struggle for their rights and join the Union.

The experience of workers demonstrates that under capitalism, various arms of the state favour the factory owners, and turn a blind eye to the factory owners flouting every law in the book in running their factories. It is necessary that the workers unite and wage the struggle for their rights in an organised way.