The Noida Apparel Export Centre (NAEC) has written to the Uttar Pradesh government, seeking attention towards the problem of labour shortage due to large-scale migration of workers in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. It said that readymade garment units in the city “immediate need” two lakh workers, including tailors, to run operations normally.
The cluster had on Thursday written a letter to MSME and Export Production Department Principal Secretary Navneet Sehgal seeking facilitation in arranging work force which has migrated to other parts of the country.
“Sir, you are aware that Noida (Gautam Buddh Nagar) is a well-known readymade garment hub of the country. Noida cluster alone has approximately 3,000 readymade garment production-cum export units which are in operation and currently employing around 10 lakh workers,” NAEC president Lalit Thukral said.
“Through these units our members export readymade garments worth Rs 18,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore annually and whose credit goes not only to our work force but also to the local administration, the government of UP and the chief minister, who have always stood by us and supported us,” he wrote in the letter.
Thukral said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the operation of these units and production of readymade garments has stopped but simultaneously the NAEC appreciates the government’s move to restart these units.
“I wish to bring to your kind knowledge a matter of concern for us that readymade garment units in Noida are unable to resume the operations because of absence of manpower, despite the UP government order allowing restarting of the production units. We are facing severe problem due to shortage of manpower/workers due to their migration to their native places,” he said.
“The Noida RMG cluster immediately requires two lakh workers as tailors and supporting hand and this requirement will further enhance to three lakh in the next quarter and four lakh soon thereafter,” he added.
He also said that a mega apparel park is soon coming up along the Yamuna Expressways and would house 150 readymade garment units.
These units would employ another five lakh workers in a short time, he added.
“Hence on behalf of members in NAEC, I request you to kindly initiate and facilitate the process of providing two lakh workforce to our member units at the earliest, which will enable us to function normally and we will immediately make arrangements to deploy them in readymade garment units in Noida region,” Thukral said in the letter.
