Garment workers across Karnataka have initiated protests following the implementation of stricter provident fund withdrawal rules on July 1, 2026, sparking widespread anger over reduced access to retirement savings amid police action and industry unrest.
Garment workers across Karnataka have stepped up protests after new provident fund withdrawal rules took effect on July 1, 2026, with unions warning that the changes will hit low-paid employees who rely on retirement savings to bridge gaps in income. The unrest has spread from Bengaluru’s industrial belts to towns including Maddur, Shikaripura, Haveri, Tumakuru and Tiptur, underscoring wider anger over access to provident fund money during unemployment.
The sharpest reaction came in Peenya on Wednesday, where police detained protesting workers from three garment companies, including Garment and Textile Workers Union president R. Prathibha, after officers used mild baton charges to prevent them from blocking traffic. A senior police officer said Peenya police had filed multiple first information reports against more than 60 workers under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to obstruction, rioting, unlawful assembly, wrongful restraint and damage to public property.
Under the revised rules, employees who leave work can immediately withdraw only up to 75% of their provident fund balance, with the remaining 25% locked away until they have been unemployed for 12 months. That marks a major change from the earlier system, under which workers could access the full balance within two months of leaving a job. K.R. Jayaram, the union’s general secretary, said workers are also being asked to state reasons such as education, marriage or housing before taking out the money, even though many use the fund simply to pay rent in Bengaluru’s costly housing market.
Jayaram also said the changes to the Employees’ Pension Scheme have angered workers further, because they must now wait 36 months before accessing that fund, whereas earlier they could draw the money much sooner after leaving employment. Maitreyi K., state secretary of the All India Central Council of Trade Unions, said the core issue is that garment workers earn too little to build savings and depend heavily on provident fund withdrawals. The All India Trade Union Congress has separately criticised the police action and urged the Karnataka government to raise minimum wages, which it says have not been revised for nearly a decade.
Labour Minister Santhosh Lad has called a meeting with stakeholders on Thursday as the government faces pressure to calm the protests. The Karnataka Independent Garment Workers’ Union has already submitted a memorandum to the Central PF Commissioner, while worker groups continue to demand that the earlier, more flexible withdrawal system be restored.
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