Following the formula of graded relaxation of the lockdown, the State government has allowed garment factories located outside containment zones to commence business activities.
In an order issued by Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar, the government has allowed garment units to operate in Bengaluru and other districts, except in containment zones. The order allows all garment or textile manufacturing units registered under the Apparel Export Promotion Council and IEC code units to operate to meet their export commitments.
Apparel industries have been told to work with only one-third of their staff at a time. They have been directed to follow all the norms announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Garment units in the State have been hiring a large number of workers, a majority of them women.
T he State government has already allowed other kinds of industries to operate, both in r ural and urban areas.
Meanwhile, hundreds of garment workers employed by a private garment factory in Peenya have been staging protests since Friday over the non-payment of salary for nearly 40 days. They have also alleged a lack of communication from the owners on when the factory will reopen. “We have not been paid for the month of April and there has been absolutely no response either from the management of the factory or from the Labour Department even after repeated requests,” said Ravi, a garment worker. He added that most of the protesters, including pregnant women, were getting to the protest venue on foot.
Another worker said that his friends who worked in other factories had been paid 40-50% of the salary. “We understand the situation and we were expecting at least half of our wages. Even when we are paid in full, we lead a hand-to-mouth existence. Now our situation is worsening by the day as we haven’t been paid for over a month,” he said.
R. Pratibha of the Garment and Textile Workers’ Union told The Hindu that many factories had not communicated anything to their workers and also not paid their wages.
