The devastating impact of Covid-19 on Leather Footwear Workers

For many years HWW has highlighted the challenges faced by both factory workers and homeworkers in the sector. It is therefore not surprising that the COVID-19 crisis and the nationwide lockdown have had a devastating impact on many workers in the leather production and footwear manufacturing industry.

Disruptions in domestic supply chains coupled with the knee-jerk reactions of many international brands and retailers, who cancelled new orders and deferred payments for shipments made, caused huge losses to the leather and leather footwear manufacturers in India. The workers employed in these sectors bore the brunt of the pandemic, with many unpaid during the lockdown period, and thousands laid off or terminated.

Cividep India have produced this in-depth report detailing the true impact of the pandemic on leather sector workers - including the many women homeworkers who hand-stitch leather shoe uppers in Tamil Nadu.