Eight-hour shift for textile workers not applicable, says commerce chamber

Textile workers' demand for weekly offs on Sundays and eight-hour work shifts is not applicable, said The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) President Ashok Jirawala on Tuesday. “Embroidery unit workers' demand for Sunday offs and eight-hour shifts is not applicable.

Unit owners give their workers holidays when there is power staggering in their areas. Everywhere else, too, industry workers work for 12 hours. The [textile] sector must find five lakh more workers for embroidery units if eight-hour shift is implemented,” Jirawala said while speaking to The Indian Express on the sidelines of a meeting with representatives of several textile associations and labour officials held at the SGCCI's office in Sarsana here.

Rising yarn prices, high power charges, power outages and implementation of the labour laws were also among the issues discussed in the meeting. Soon, the chamber will be submitting a representation to the Union ministries on the issues concerning the sector, Jirawala said.

“We will be submitting a representation to the Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of Industries, and Ministry of Power of the Government of India in the coming days. The government will be apprised of the points discussed in the meeting.” The meeting also discussed how the rising international crude oil prices were directly impacting the costs of textile raw materials, polyester/man-made fibres, transportation, and production.

The stakeholders strongly argued that yarn prices must be reduced when crude oil prices come down. The discussions also focused on implementing and complying with the new labour laws. Factory owners agreed to comply with the revised PF and ESIC regulations in their units but stated that many people insist on receiving wages in cash rather than through bank accounts.

Suggestions made included paying wages based on work output, recovering 50% of the cost from the worker in the event of damage caused by negligence, and banning mobile phone usage within the unit to maintain productivity.