Occupational Health Problems of Garment Workers
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Date
2011
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Abstract
The giirmciit is one of tlic ninny Inhourintensive
sectors that provide n gateway for developing
countries to the global market. The garment industry
contributes 16.63% to the foreign earnings of India and it
employs over 3.S million workers. The workers in these
industries are employed mainly in three different sections
namcl'i cutting, stitching and tlnisliing of garments. Th.e
present study was taken up in Ti ru p u r district which is
situate I in the Western Tamil Nadu. Garment production
in Tir jp u r , also known as “T-shirt city” , accounts for
80% of In d ia ’s total production of knitwear for export. An
interview schedule was framed regarding garment
workers’ socio-economic background, job history, health
problems related to work and otlier health problems and
accidents at worksite. Five huiidrcd and fifteen workers
employed in 13 large, medium and small scale ga rment
units were surveyed. The mean age of garment workers
was 30 years (±.S.7). Both male (57“/i>) and female (43%)
workers were employed equally. Majority of the moderate
discomforts were experienced in lower extremities such as
leg (99.8%), feet (95.S%) and knees (95.3%) followed by
upper extremities sucli as upper hack (85.8%), low back
(66.2%), mid back (65.5“/o), shoulders (65.5%) and neck
(55%) respectively. There was a strong associalioii
between the musculoskeletal discomforts (neck, shoulders,
upper arm and lower arm) and the scctio.ns (cutting,
stitching and finishing) in which garment workers were
employed. F u r th e r when occupational risks factors of
garment workers were compared with health problems,
significant difference at two per cent level and one per
cent level were found.