A fresh order from Madras High Court have set aside the confusion prevailing in the hosiery sector in Tirupur knitwear cluster with regard to the ‘revision of minimum wages for employment in tailoring industry’.
Justice M. Kirubakaran, in the order pronounced a few days back, had stated that the Government Order dated October 10, 2014, issued by Labour Department, on ‘Revision of minimum rates of wages for employment in tailoring industry’, would not be applicable to the employment in hosiery industry.
The order came on a petition moved by three textile units in Tirupur cluster questioning the Government Order dated October 10, 2014, and its validity over the hosiery industry.
The petitioners pointed out that the minimum wages in the said GO should be applicable only to the ‘tailoring industry’ not to the units placed under ‘hosiery industry’.
They moved the court after the confusion came up following another Madras High Court order in July this year in which industrial units were asked to pay the arrears in the wages if the workers were paid lower than the minimum wages fixed in the GO dated October 10, 2014, from then till 2016.
Tirupur Exporters Association president A. Sakthivel was categorical in their statements that the GO in 2014 and also the court order in July asking to pay arrears were not applicable to hosiery sector and only meant for tailoring industry.