S. Suryia

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“After delivering my daughter, I was at home as I had to take care of her and couldn’t go for work. The company’s around my house approached me asking if I am willing to work from home. I thought about it and agreed as I could take care of my daughter and also earn some money. Money was is small but even that is very useful.

I have worked in a factory setting for three years, till my daughter was born. It was very suffocating, I had to be there close to 12 hours a day. I wouldn’t get time for myself, couldn’t even take care of household work. Here, as a homeworker I can do both.”

Suryia

“These cones will have tiny bits of thread left in them, and the cone will be crushed and deformed. You have to put them on the metal frame so they can be used for rewinding. If this woman works from morning until evening, she will just get 200 rupee

“These cones will have tiny bits of thread left in them, and the cone will be crushed and deformed. You have to put them on the metal frame so they can be used for rewinding. If this woman works from morning until evening, she will just get 200 rupees. It’s not done on a per piece basis, just the day. This job is generally done by older women. I don’t know the woman in the photo, I took it in a place close to my house. It’s not easier work than other tasks, it’s just this woman has been doing this work for a long time. She’s worked in tasks related to the cones for years, but now she’s old, she rolls the cones. Since she’s old, even the company guys wont give her work, so she has to take this task which has an unreliable income – if there’s enough work, she can earn 200 rupees a day, but if not, she might earn only 50. She’s a single lady, her daughter is married, so to take care of herself she does this.”

‘It’s painful and can hurt, but if you have to eat you have to earn. I went there because these workers are old and they are working from home. They asked me, why are you taking my pictures? I said nothing, and I explained why I am taking pictures, a

‘It’s painful and can hurt, but if you have to eat you have to earn. I went there because these workers are old and they are working from home. They asked me, why are you taking my pictures? I said nothing, and I explained why I am taking pictures, and that there would be no harm from having their picture taken, and that I am part of a union advocating for their recognition by the government – they were interested in this. In spite of working for so many years, no one will give them work now – they know if we homeworkers had recognition, they would be able to get pensions and support from the government.”

‘This couple live close by in my district, and don’t work for any company. They buy the material, stitch it themselves and sell it on. There’s a weekly market, and they have a stall there and sell it. Earlier, they used to work for the companies as h

‘This couple live close by in my district, and don’t work for any company. They buy the material, stitch it themselves and sell it on. There’s a weekly market, and they have a stall there and sell it. Earlier, they used to work for the companies as homebased workers, but work started to dry up, even before covid, so now they work for themselves So compared to five years before, there are more homebased workers – but the amount of work has depreciated. The pay has stayed the same, but there’s more people competing for the work.’

“My neighbours make sarees. This woman’s husband is a saree weaver, as a contract worker. Each colour thread is spun on a reel. Even though this work is on a contract, it’s still done in the same way that homebased work is – the contractor comes and

“My neighbours make sarees. This woman’s husband is a saree weaver, as a contract worker. Each colour thread is spun on a reel. Even though this work is on a contract, it’s still done in the same way that homebased work is – the contractor comes and leaves a pile of work to be completed. It’s more or less the same pay. It takes 2-3 days to weave a saree, and these workers earn about the same as homebased workers. Together., the husband and wife will earn about 2000-3000 rupees per week. You can’t move between these types of work (homework and saree work)– you do the kind you are used to. Saree work is throughout the year, unlike homework. There is a separate association for weavers, who are also campaigning for recognition from the government.”

"Sumathi is working in a factory where raw cotton is made into cotton ropes or bundles. Sumathi has no idea about the name of the process she does! It was hard for me to stay there while taking the photographs as the process creates a lot of dust but

"Sumathi is working in a factory where raw cotton is made into cotton ropes or bundles. Sumathi has no idea about the name of the process she does! It was hard for me to stay there while taking the photographs as the process creates a lot of dust but Sumathi is seen going about her work without even wearing a mask"

"The waste from the textile industry is made into small ropes which are used to make sweeping mops. Here Meghana is seen measuring and cutting those ropes to make mops. She works 8 hours a day and earns about 800rs per day."

"The waste from the textile industry is made into small ropes which are used to make sweeping mops. Here Meghana is seen measuring and cutting those ropes to make mops. She works 8 hours a day and earns about 800rs per day."