Trade unions have demanded reopening of the National Textile Corporation (NTC) mills in the country.
The mills have remained shut since the first lockdown last year.
The trade unions here have formed a coordination committee with representatives of unions from other States too. There is a meeting in Kerala next, said M. Arumugam, AITUC leader here.
The government can sell the additional land and operate the units that are viable. Keeping the mills shut is more because of the policies of the Union government. “It should look at job creation and not closing down the units. Several mills were making profits before the lockdown and can be operated with profits if there are reopened,” he said.
C. Padmanabhan of CITU said the government should immediately run the mills and the workers should get full wages as the officials of NTC are getting for the last one and a half years. The mills have assets worth ₹50,000 crore and need just ₹500 crore to revive operations. Further, the outstanding amount for NTC mills is ₹2,000 crore from different government organisations. Even if this money is made available, the mills, numbering 31 across the country, can be reopened, he said.
An official in the Ministry of Textiles said the government is looking at two or three options for the NTC mills and a decision is expected in a couple of months.
