People who are ‘differently abled’ have always struggled to be accepted in mainstream society and though many may treat them with compassion, few are willing to give them gainful employment for a dignified life. In the apparel industry too there are very few garment factories which are encouraging such recruitments despite the fact that the experience of those who have employed them is very satisfying.
From the last 11 years, a blind couple Sher Singh and his wife Ajanta are working as packers in the finishing department of Radnik Exports, Okhla and the company has never seen any fault in their work. Yet, the industry as a whole is not too supportive of such workers, feels Nitasha Kachru, Assistant Director, NAB Center for Blind Women & Disability Studies, Delhi. “Earlier I was working in an export house and we used to hire and train disabled people for the factory, but now at NAB though we are training blind people for the industry, the response has been disappointing and finally we quit the efforts to place them in the apparel industry,” informs Nitasha. She adds that it would help immensely if hiring the disabled became a part of HR policies of the companies and sensitization of the industry in this regard could be undertaken.
Heads of HR departments of top companies including that of Radnik Exports, which has been awarded in the last three consecutive years for giving maximum employment to such people also agree that the commitment is low. “There are 85 such staff members working with us and we give them full comfort and job responsibility as per their capacity and convenience. We hire them raw and train them according to our needs, but even we do not have a proper policy in place with regards to such recruitments,” says R. Gour, GM, HRD & Admin, Radnik Exports. Gour admits that while a few of the disabled workers are very good in their work, some have limited productivity. “Government should come forward and give some compensation to hire disabled people, so that export houses will be more motivated,” adds Gour.
Many companies having a few disabled staff members are open to recruit more, provided they are approached by right source. The Welfare Officer of Sargam Exports, Gurgaon is disabled but the factory still has less than 10 such staff members. “We can’t find such workers ourselves, but if an NGO or association comes with such persons we are open for that,” says Gopal Singh, CSR Head of the company. Adds Gurmeet Singh, HR Manager, Pee Empro, Faridabad, “We always respect recommendation of OGTC in this regard and more than 20 disable people are working with us through this route. NGOs should come to export houses with them and their disability detail so we can easily place them.” Many companies look at such hiring from a welfare angle and it is not a prime focus for them, as Himani Grover, HR Manager of Shades of India, Noida candidly says, “We have 3-4 such people working with us, but we are doing it as a welfare initiative, and it is just one effort among many others.”
It is also noticeable that most of the disabled people working in the industry have disabilities which in no way hampers their performance. Majority of them are suffering from polio, and in spite of one of their legs not working properly, they are proving as good in stitching as the others. Deaf and dumb persons are also good operators and also successful as computer operators and checkers. There are some companies where low vision persons are working as layer helpers, fabric checkers, thread cutting and packers. The commitment level of such workers is high and it has been noticed by the industry that they don’t change their jobs easily and are more disciplined and sincere.
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