Tirupur’s knitwear industry is yet to bounce back fully.
THE TIRUPUR KNITWEAR APPAREL INDUSTRY in TamilNadu, one of the country’s leading textile clusters, is still smarting under the impact of demonetisation.
The industry records an annual turnover of Rs.35,000 crore and accounts for 90 per cent of the country’s knitted garment exports. Its estimated domestic annual turnover is Rs.12,000 crore, industry sources said.
“All looked rosy until the night demonetisation was announced. This midnight blow was hard,” said a domestic apparel manufacturer. For a year now, the cash dependent industry has been facing a liquidity crunch following demonetisation, which has forced many medium and small units to down their shutters and left a few lakh labourers in the lurch.
After a brief assessment of the various factors that impact the industry, it is not far-fetched to claim that the industry in Tirupur is facing an uncertain future. The industry reportedly employs about three lakh people in about 6,000 units in the manufacturing cluster of big and small units spread across Tirupur, Avinashi and Palladam.
“Demonetisation has triggered a liquidity crunch in this labour-intensive industry. We need not wait for the financial year ending to analyse our performance. The prediction studies point to a disappointing performance by the industry in the days to come,” said an exporter.
Of the estimated three lakh workers, 30 to 40 per cent are migrant labourers from the north and north-eastern parts of the country. As the industry is not able to disburse wages, the usual practice being weekly payments, and routine daily incentives in cash, many have abandoned their jobs and gone back home. “Many units are suffering from a labour shortage since those who have gone to their native places for Deepavali holidays have not returned so far. Usually, they would return within a fortnight after the festival,” said a trade union activist.
Esta historia es de la edición November 24, 2017 de FRONTLINE.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición November 24, 2017 de FRONTLINE.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
