Archives of Indian Labour

For Tirupur, the period stretched from 2010 to 2020 due to the low incidence of reported industrial disputes. Trade unions’ records and workers’ interviews helped build the collection supported by petitions under the Right To Information Act 2005 to the government to procure the necessary documents. There are three categories: 1) Case documents submitted as evidence in the proceedings containing workers’ employment documents, correspondence with the labour office, case proceedings and final awards. For Tirupur they are divided according to the process of dispute resolution into formal, semi formal and informal cases. 2) Case Summaries provide an overview and chronology of the events substantiated with details of the parties involved in the dispute. 3) Interviews with workers recounting their experiences in the garment sector. The disputes are collectively included in the cumulative report which provides a history of the garment industry, existing labour legislation and welfare schemes. This information is followed by a detailed analysis of the modalities of negotiations and bargaining mechanisms deployed in each dispute.