Unconventional wisdom from below : understanding social and technical determinants of ergonomic risk in the Indian informal textile and clothing sector

In many parts of the Global South, including India, a significant number of informal workers, particularly women in the informal economy, engage in sewing, embroidery, and other forms of manufacturing work within informal segments of the textile and clothing sector. Despite substantial progress in labor rights and workplace safety regulations, the persistence of hazardous workplace conditions renders such workers vulnerable to potentially disabling forms of 'Repetitive strain injuries'. 'Repetitive strain injuries' frequently result from poor ergonomic design of workplace equipment. This thesis on India's informal textile and clothing sector studies the usage characteristics of workplace technologies at the organizational and individual levels, and their interactions with broader social and institutional arrangements that characterize informal sewing units. In partnership with Usha International Ltd. and SEWA (Self Employed Women's Association) Bharat, the thesis demonstrates how context-sensitive ergonomic interventions can be developed for and with those working within the informal textile and clothing economy. The thesis achieves this by studying ergonomic risk from the bottom-up by using focus group discussions and key informant interviews, with the goal of (1) collecting both qualitative and quantitative information and (2) facilitating the unveiling of hidden rationalities that influence workplace decision making and studying their implications for technical and policy solutions.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2017

Author dc:creator

• Madhavan, Jaswanth

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Bishwapriya Sanyal.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/111394

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/111394