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Prevalence of girl child labour in the Indian textile industry: Study on the textile & garment clusters in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Institute of Public Enterprise, Dr. M. Karthik. (2025)

The report states that young Dalit girls are recruited into Tamil Nadu’s textile and spinning mills from rural, underdeveloped areas and as migrant workers, often through contracts promising salary or end-of-contract payments that families may use for dowry. In the Tamil Nadu sample, SC respondents made up **33.6%** of the workers surveyed, the largest caste category reported in that state sample. The report also finds a statistically significant relationship between caste and daily income: only **56.9% of SC workers** received Rs. 500 per day, compared with **63.7% of General** and **91.7% of Forward caste** workers. Overall, the document indicates that caste is relevant to the recruitment and working conditions of girl workers, but it does not provide a detailed Dalit-specific discrimination analysis beyond these findings.

OECD side session addressed caste discrimination in global supply chains (IDSN News)

At an OECD side session on 10 February, speakers highlighted caste discrimination as a serious and often overlooked human rights risk in global supply chains and called for stronger action to address it through human rights due diligence. The virtual session, From Principles to Practice: Addressing Caste and Advancing Nondiscrimination in Supply Chains, was hosted by the Fair Labor Association in collaboration with Arisa, IDSN and the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights. The discussion focused on how caste-based discrimination continues to affect workers in supply chains and on what companies can do in practice to identify, prevent and address these harms.

Submission to the European Commission on caste and forced labour in supply chains connected to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – to inform the EU Forced Labour Regulation Risk Database (March 2026)

With growing evidence of labour exploitation across South Asia—this report provides an evidence- based analysis to assist the European Commission in identifying high-risk sectors connected to EU supply chains and in enforcing due diligence in line with the EU Forced Labour Regulation.

NCCEBL survey: 63% of rescued migrant bonded labourers are Dalits (The Hindu Article)

New research on Migrant Bonded Labour in India, released by the National Campaign Committee for the Eradication of Bonded Labour (NCCEBL), reveals a stark caste pattern among rescued migrant bonded labourers. Based on testimonies from around 950 workers, the survey finds that all surveyed labourers belonged to marginalised caste groups, with 63% from Scheduled Castes (Dalits), 13% from Scheduled Tribes, and 24% from Other Backward Classes, and none from the general category. The report also documents serious gaps in State support following rescue, noting that 63% of workers rescued after 2016 did not receive the interim travel assistance mandated immediately upon release, and that many eligible workers, particularly women and children, received no compensation at all.

South Asia: Stitched up: Denial of freedom of association for garment workers in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka (Amnesty International)

A new report by Amnesty International, South Asia: Stitched up – Denial of freedom of association for garment workers in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, documents widespread violations of garment workers’ rights to organise and bargain collectively, while highlighting how gender, caste, migrant status and other intersecting forms of discrimination deepen exploitation and exclusion from trade union activity. The report details patterns of intimidation, union repression and weak enforcement of labour laws across the region, leaving already marginalised workers particularly vulnerable within global supply chains. IDSN welcomes the inclusion in the report of the work of IDSN affiliate, the Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU), and underscores the importance of caste- and gender-responsive approaches to freedom of association as a foundation for responsible supply chains.

IDSN at the Business and Human Rights Forum: Advancing caste-responsive due diligence (IDSN News)

At the 14th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, the IDSN #DalitVoicesUN delegation engagement underscored the urgent need to recognise caste discrimination in global supply chains and human-rights due diligence. Through active engagement in multiple sessions, the focus was on the importance of rights-based, people-centred frameworks aligned with international standards.

Blind spots in textile recycling: Fashion’s sustainability claims overlook workers’ rights

Recycling sector workers are frequently exposed to dust, chemicals and dangerous machinery without proper protective gear. Evidence collected so far also suggests that this workforce’s proportion of child and migrant labourers, who are most prone to exploitation and abuse, is alarmingly high. The sector operates with little to no governmental regulatory oversight and is entirely non-unionised, meaning that risks and violations often go unaddressed. Other investigations of the textile recycling industry in Panipat came to the same conclusions, highlighting especially the severe health issues.7

South Asia: Abandoned by fashion: The urgent need for fashion brands to champion workers’ rights; Brand responses to Amnesty International survey – Amnesty International

This briefing highlights the responsibilities of fashion companies in relation to the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework (UN Guiding Principles), and assesses the key ways in which fashion companies compound the failure of states and factory employers to protect workers and respect freedom of association. In this briefing, Amnesty International analyses the areas where fashion companies can work harder to promote freedom of association and decent working conditions across their supply chain in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. We identify how the current model of complex supply chains and privatized auditing in the industry diffuses responsibility and places a low value on the labour of the predominantly female garment workers, solidifying an exploitative business model which fashion companies need to address at its core. We make recommendations for how these companies can play a much larger role in promoting freedom of association for workers in their supply chain. This briefing is designed to be read alongside Amnesty International’s Stitched Up: Denial of Freedom of Association for Garment Workers in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka which looks in more detail at the human rights violations in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and the role of states and employers (supplier factories).

Excessive hours, wage theft and poor working conditions in Pakistan’s garment export factories (Arisa report 2025)

The Overworked and Underpaid (2025) report by Arisa examines labour rights violations in Pakistan’s garment industry, revealing systemic exploitation and precarity. From a caste perspective, it highlights how caste-affected and scheduled caste communities, often migrating from rural Sindh and southern Punjab, are funnelled into the most insecure, lowest-paid jobs in urban factories. Dalit Christians, in particular, are frequently relegated to cleaning and sanitation work, reflecting entrenched caste hierarchies even within urban industrial settings. These workers face compounded discrimination, invisibility in official data, and minimal access to unions or grievance mechanisms. Their marginalised social status intensifies vulnerability to wage theft, forced overtime, and retaliation for speaking up. The report underscores the need for brands and policymakers to integrate a caste lens into supply-chain due diligence and labour reforms to ensure meaningful inclusion and redress for caste-affected workers. The report is also available in Urdu here https://lnkd.in/eBqGke-3

UN Women policy paper Women Belonging to Communities Discriminated Against Based on Work and Descent (July 2025)

The policy paper details how women from communities discriminated on the basis of work and descent (e.g. Dalit, Haratine etc.) suffer overlapping, structural discrimination combining gender, caste or descent, and socio-economic marginalization. It shows that these women face exclusion from basic services, disproportionate poverty, unsafe and informal employment, violence and harmful traditional norms, lack of political voice, and barriers in education and health. The report underscores that existing laws and policies often fail to reach them, either through weak implementation or because they are not designed with descent- and gender-sensitive lenses. It offers examples of promising practices and calls for state and UN actors to adopt intersectional approaches: data disaggregation, legal recognition of descent-based discrimination, targeted policy action, meaningful participation of affected women, and stronger accountability mechanisms.

Addressing Caste Discrimination in India’s Supply Chains: Insights from Ethical Trade Norway’s Seminar (IDSN News)

In January 2025, Ethical Trade Norway convened a seminar titled “Responsible Trade with India – What Must You Know?” to explore the complexities of engaging with India’s vast and diverse market. The event underscored the critical importance of understanding caste-based discrimination, particularly against Dalits and Adivasis, within global supply chains. The Dalit Solidarity Network Norway also played an active role in the Seminar.

Precarious labour and silenced workers: The position of workers from Scheduled Caste communities in the textiles and garment industry in Pakistan (ARISA)

This report explores caste-based discrimination and challenges that Scheduled Caste workers face in Karachi’s export-oriented textiles and garment industry. While previous research has examined informality and marginalisation in the sector, there have been no previous studies of factors like race and ethnicity, religion and caste, beyond gender.

OECD side-event addresses caste related labour exploitation in global garment and leather supply chains (IDSN News)

On 14 February 2025, IDSN, Arisa and Homeworkers Worldwide hosted a side-session at the OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector. The discussion addressed the exploitation of Dalit workers in South Asia’s garment and leather industries that form part of global supply chains. The panel featured voices from the frontlines of labour rights, each offering insights into caste discrimination, forced and bonded labour and caste and gender-based violence at work.

IDSN input on the Worst Forms of Child Labour for UN SR Slavery 2025 report

This IDSN submission highlights the pervasive issue of child labour among Dalit children in South Asia, particularly in India, where caste-based discrimination and systemic poverty exacerbate their vulnerability. Children as young as five are subjected to bonded labour in brick kilns, hazardous work in agriculture, forced labour in the textile industry, and domestic servitude, often under exploitative schemes like the “Sumangali” system. The IDSN underscores that these children, especially girls, face compounded risks of trafficking, sexual violence, and early marriage, which further entrench their marginalisation. To address these issues, the IDSN calls for the strict enforcement of existing laws, the elimination of caste-based discrimination in education and public services, and the implementation of comprehensive social protection measures to support vulnerable families and prevent child labour.

TAINTED GARMENTS THE EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN INDIA’S HOME-BASED GARMENT SECTOR (Berkeley – Blum Center 2021)

Video documentary – Protecting children from Pesticides in Pakistan | International Labour Organization

Video documentary - Protecting children from Pesticides in Pakistan

Bonded Child Labor in India’s Silk Industry (Human Rights Watch)

Vulnerable workers include Dalits and low-caste Hindus in India - most bonded laborers in the silk industry in India are from lower castes.

Child labour in the primary production of sugarcane (ILO)

Spinning around worker’s rights: International companies linked to forced labour in Tamil Nadu spinning mills (Arisa)

This report by SOMO and Arisa, supported by Mondiaal FNV, includes a detailed description and analysis of the human rights situation in the textile mills of Tamil Nadu where workers’ rights are being violated, workers are too afraid to object to sub-standard working conditions and excessive overtime for fear of losing their jobs, women are suffering harassment on the factory floor and in the hostels where they are obliged to live, and workers are not being paid a proper wage. This report makes painfully clear that there is a dire need for all corporate actors along the apparel supply chain to commit to heightened Human Rights Due Diligence in all phases of product development, also in the upstream supply chain. It includes clear recommendations to brands on what action they should take, and where their focus should lie. One such recommendation is engaging in rigorous supply chain mapping, along with, and this recommendation is close to my heart, actively committing to furthering freedom of association and collective bargaining. Facilitating the establishment and functioning of democratically elected, independent, factory-level trade unions that give workers a voice in improving their working conditions is essential to finally creating supply chains.