The decision of the Lorry Transport Owners’ Association not to lift matches from April 21 may hit distribution across the country.
Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, association president Srinivasan said they lifted matchbox cartons from manufacturing units in and around Thoothukudi and other surrounding districts. The lorry freight included loading/unloading charges of workers.
Lorry owners paid ₹7,000 to ₹8,000 for loading (per truck) and ₹3,000 to ₹4,000 for unloading. Now, the workers’ association demanded 30% hike in wages.
Asociation secretary Ganesh Kumar and treasurer Narayanasami said at a time when the lorry industry faced severe hardships due to rise in price of diesel and toll fee, among other issues, the wage hike demand would result in huge losses. Hence, the association had unanimously decided to leave the wage issue with match manufacturers and confine itself to collection of transport charges.
Everyday, hundreds of lorries lifted consignments of match boxes from manufacturers here and transported them to Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. In the return direction, the trucks transported goods up to Madurai or Sivakasi.
From April 21, lorry owners in the region would not lift matches, but continue to transport other consignments as usual, they said and urged the match manufacturers’ association to take a decision on the wage issue. Any delay might jeopardise the distribution network.
