AEPC chairman A Sakthivel told ET that the council has requested Sood to arrange 100,000 workers immediately as export orders have started picking up.
Kolkata: Bollywood actor Sonu Sood may step in to help apparel exporters in the country get back migrant workers who have left for their hometowns following the outbreak of Covid-19. The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) is having a dialogue with Sood to bring back migrant workers from the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
AEPC chairman A Sakthivel told ET that the council has requested Sood to arrange 100,000 workers immediately as export orders have started picking up.
“The order position has improved in July compared to June,” Sakthivel said. “In August, too, the trend is positive and global players are placing fresh orders. From September onwards, the orders will increase because the foreign buyers start placing orders for the summer season.”
“However, to execute that order we need workers. Our immediate requirement is 1 lakh workers. But in all, we will require 3 lakh workers. Unless the migrant workers return, it will not be possible for us to execute big orders. That is why we have approached Sood to arrange migrant workers for the apparel exporting units,” the AEPC chairman said.
Sood, who had helped migrant workers return to their hometowns after a nationwide lockdown was first declared on March 25, has recently launched Pravasi Rojgar job portal to provide jobs to 300,000 workers.
“We feel that the migrant workers will listen to him as he had helped them during lockdown,” said Sakthivel.
Exports of readymade garments from India have taken a hit in the first quarter of FY21 due to the pandemic and lockdowns across the globe. Exports have fallen 62.23% to Rs 10,955.42 crore in Q1 of FY21 from Rs 29,008.41 crore in the year-ago quarter.
While AEPC is approaching Sood to bring back migrant workers, exporters of Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC) in Uttar Pradesh have sent feelers to the state government that they are willing to take on rent the 3,000 shelter homes that have been set up by the government for migrant workers who will work at the cluster.
The Uttar Pradesh government has set up over 3,000 shelter homes, along with medical screening facilities, across the state, as part of a slew of measures taken to accommodate the migrant workers keeping Covid-19 pandemic in view.
“The exporters will share the maximum portion of the rent while the workers will have to bear the minimum portion,” said Lalit Thukral, president at NAEC. “We need workers immediately as the export orders are increasing. We are also in touch with some workers. But they are afraid to come back because of Covid-19. Also, workers from Bihar are unwilling to come as they want to cast their votes in the upcoming state assembly elections.”
