Southern States
-
Tamil Nadu
Stoppage of work hits Kovai workers
By M. Soundariya Preetha
COIMBATORE, DEC. 11. As the industry in the Coimbatore region is in a predicament, a number of units have been resorting to ``temporary stoppage of work'' affecting thousands of workers.
According to industrial sources here, a number of units, especially textile and engineering, are unable to operate to their full capacity for several reasons including ``financial crunch''. While many textile mills have gone in for ``partial operation'' of the units for some time, some have opted for
``suspension of operation'' temporarily. The workers are paid ``compensation'' for these days.
The Labour Department sources say there were six applications in 2000 for ``lay-off'' and only two so far this year. All applications were from engineering units.
Though there was no application from the textile units for ``lay-off'' in the last two years, union sources say ``there are units in which workers have been given laid off''. This problem was less among the smaller units as the number of ``non- permanent workers was more in there'', they claimed.
Mr. M. Arumugam, AITUC leader and former MLA, said the number of textile mills which were reducing production was on the rise. However, not all workers were given laid off and the units were able to operate with a small workforce.
Interestingly, he said, the number of labour disputes coming up for negotiations was not much now-a-days as the workers were aware of the plight of the textile industry. Though the unions had been fighting for long on this issue, they also took note of the increasing number of units opting for temporary stoppage of work.
Hence the textile unions appealed to the Government to form a tripartite committee which should study the viability of every mill in the State and recommend suitable measures. The unions also requested the Government to remove the classification of mills. All mills should have a level-playing field for ``healthy competition'', Mr. Arumugham said.
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Southern States
|
