While a section of the industry is trying to woo the migrant workers by offering incentives, others are approaching governments of states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, where these workers come from, to convince them to return, industry insiders said.
Garment and knitwear hubs across the country from Ludhiana to Tirupur are facing shortage of tailors and finishing personnel as hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who were engaged in these jobs have left for their hometowns amid the national lockdown.
While a section of the industry is trying to woo the migrant workers by offering incentives, others are approaching governments of states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, where these workers come from, to convince them to return, industry insiders said.
“There is an acute shortage of those who stitch garments and also those engaged in ironing and pressing of the garments,” said Rahul Mehta, chief mentor of Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), the country’s oldest garment industry association based in Mumbai, as factories start to reopen after more than two months of Covid-19 lockdown.
