Around 500 match splint units, employing more than 20,000 people directly and another 25,000 indirectly across Kerala, have decided to down shutters from Wednesday in protest against what they claimed was the neglect towards the industry by the State government. The government must take immediate steps to protect the industry which have been one of the traditional cottage industries in Kerala, said K. M. A. Latheef, general secretary of the Kerala State Match Splints and Veneer Manufacturers’ Association.
One of the key issues raised by them is that the softwood variety Ailanthus ( (Pongalyam, Matti or Perumaram) available in Kerala is now smuggled out of the State in large quantities without the government collecting any tax and that the wood is being used by manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu.
Mr. Latheef said there were around a thousand match splint and veneer-making units across Kerala. However, more than half of them had closed down, shutting down employment opportunities for thousands of people.
He said Ailanthus available in Kerala is best suited for match splint-making. However, the wood was now being taken out of Kerala to splint and match box making units in Tamil Nadu, taking advantage of the dry climatic condition in the State as well as lower wages.
While match box making was basically concentrated in the neighbouring State, splint making had now come to a proportion of 60:40. Match splint makers are demanding that the government or the cooperative sector open a mechanised common dipping centre for match heads and the striking surfaces of match boxes to protect the local industry. Mr. Latheef said that there were no match box making units in Kerala as of now as they had shifted out to Tamil Nadu.
