Clothing producers announce two-day strike

11 Mar '11

1 min read

“Since talks with the government have remained inconclusive, on our proposal to roll back 10% excise duty, garment manufacturers will go on a two-day strike”, said Mr Rahul Mehta, President - Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI).

“Clothing manufacturers under the CMAI fold will stay shut on Monday and Tuesday next week”, he added by saying.

On March 7, branded clothing retailers like Pantaloons, Shoppers Stop, Porvouge, Arvind Barnds and many others had pulled down their shutters in protest against the excise duty.

But since the shut-down and the talks following the same, seems to have not achieved a breakthrough, the apparel producers are striking again for two days.

Mr Mehta warned that the imposition of the duty will lead to a negative growth for the around Rs 1,500 billion industry which was growing at a brisk 10-12 percent per annum.

He further warned of job losses in the sector as producers were already stifled by a surge in cotton prices in the last few months.

Yesterday, Kishore-Biyani led Pantaloon Retail had announced a hike in branded apparel by 18 percent on fresh merchandise.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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