Tiruppur, the centre of South India’s textile industry, breathed a sigh of relief on Friday as the Tamil Nadu government finally agreed to the industry’s long-standing demand to increase the working hours of textile units from eight to twelve hours per day in light of the units’ failure to meet the Covid-19 deadline and subsequent shutdown.
Eight lakh families in Tiruppur and the surrounding areas were experiencing uncertainty as numerous units began to close their doors for a variety of reasons, including a lack of labour and subpar infrastructure in the nation’s knitwear centre.
The industry has been pressing for a four-hour increase in working hours, and the government has been doing nothing. The Pioneer had just reported about the terrible effects that the callousness of the State administration caused for the Tirupur Textile Association. The TEA’s president, K. M. Subramanian, applauded the government’s decision to extend working hours in a statement on Friday. “The units are willing to pay the overtime wages, and the employees are prepared to do so. However, Chennai did not give us the all-clear, said Subramanian.
He added that in order to achieve the delivery schedule and complete shipments on time, overtime was definitely necessary at busy times. According to S Sakthivel, executive secretary of TEA, “Transporting the goods by air is a costly affair and it brought down the competence of our units.”
According to Sakthivel, the TEA’s demands have not been met in full. also the district According to Rajendra Prasad Pareek, proprietor of a small scale industrial company, Tirupur Municipal Corporation limits, which were bustling and alive before the pandemic struck in 2019, have yet to get back on track. “Prices of cotton yarn have increased by about 70%, and small-scale industry units require financial support at fair interest rates.
We are capable and knowledgeable enough to bring about change. What about the finances, though? Pareek, who has been making and selling knitwear for more than 45 years, declared, “We are helpless. His son, Jitender Pareek, said that the company did not have a high yield. “This industry employs a lot of people and benefits more than eight lakh homes. Numerous business owners are quitting their profession because to low profits. The day when Tirupur is abandoned by God is rapidly approaching, according to the younger Pareek.
