Access To Covid-19 Related Relief Efforts 67% garment workers reported that they were able to access some form of Covid-19 relief in 2020. However, most workers stated that it was too little, too late. • Around 30-40% of the workers received Covid-19 relief either as in-kind in the form of dry food or through cash transfers from State governments (Figure 6.20). However, the cash support was a meagre one-time amount of 1000-2000 INR (13-26 USD), which could hardly help meet consumption needs for more than a week. • Around 10% of the workers reported they received monetary support from trade unions/ NGOs while around 30% stated they received dry food packets from unions/NGOs. • Around 10% of the workers received monetary support from suppliers. However most workers reported that they were forced to compensate for it with unpaid overtime in the post-lockdown period. • Workers were not able to access any healthcare support through any sources during the Covid-19 crisis in 2020.
Figure 6.20: Percentage of workers who received Covid-19 support from various sources Figure 6.17 : Percentage of workers who received Covid-19 support from various sources 50
Percentage of workers
44% 40
36%
30
27%
20
10
10% 5% 1%
0
1%
Monetary support
Factory
Government
2% Food
0% 1% 0% 0% Healthcare
NGO/Charity
Trade Union
Source: Primary data, n = 290 (workers who received Covid-19 related relief)
110
