Powerloom Workers Staging Protest
Powerloom unit workers staging a protest in Mangalam on Tuesday. About 200 workers in powerloom units in Mangalam and Palladam staged a demonstration at Mangalam on Tuesday.The protest was organised by CITU, INTUC, AITUC and ATP against the textile manufacturers in the district. A release from the unions said that about two lakh workers were employed in the powerloom units in the district and they were working for 12 hours a day. The wage agreement, arrived at by the textile manufacturers and job working powerloom units three years ago, expired this year.
Hence, the job working powerloom units were demanding 100 per cent increase in wages from the manufacturers now. These units should increase the wages for their labourers by 50 per cent from the current levels, according to the unions. Though talks were conducted by the Minister for Rural Industries and Animal Husbandry, District Collector and Labour Department officials, the textile manufacturers were not coming forward to increase the wages for the job working units contending that there was a slow down in market and hence goods had piled up with them.
The job working units were on strike, thus directly affecting the workers, the unions said. A release from the Vellakovil Openend Spinning Mills Association said its member units were on indefinite strike since August 25 demanding ban on waste cotton exports. According to the association members, the low count yarn made from waste cotton was not getting good price in the market. The units were hit by increase in cotton prices and frequent power cuts. Further, with the powerloom units in Coimbatore District on strike, the yarn from the mills did not have a good market.
