Appealing for immediate withdrawal of the February 10, 2016 notification, TEA President Dr.A.Sakthivel said the order had created unrest among workers from outside states, especially North India, who resorted to strike in three units.

In a letter to the Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Bandaru Dattatreya, Dr Shaktivel said the notification has led to complaints from workers, most of whom are migrants from neighbouring states and North India.

The North Indian workers generally work for about four to five years. They are now insisting upon the managements to settle their accounts including the employers’ deposits in their accounts.

The managements are finding it increasingly difficult to convince the workers about the government’s notification, Dr Shaktivel said in his letter.

He has asked the government to allow workers to withdraw employers’ contributions also on leaving the job and not wait till they attain 58 years of age.

The strikes in a few units are already beginning to hit the industry, the TEA president said expressing the fear of a labour exodus from the area.

“Due to this, the production got affected and the units could also face the difficulty in meeting out the export delivery schedule. These units may not only incur financial losses but also future orders,” Dr Shaktivel said in the letter.

“With the shortage of labour, no export unit will take big orders since the execution of it in time is doubtful,” he added.

A labour exodus would seriously hit the export industry which currently generates a revenue of Rs.23,500 crores, the TEA President said.

The TEA President said he has also sought the help of Union Minster for Parliamentary Affairs, Urban Development, Housing and Poverty Alleviation, Venkaiah Naidu in this regard.

In a meeting with Naidu in Coimbatore, Dr Shaktivel urged the Union Minister for construction of labour quarters and women hostels in Tirupur.  (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India