Textile Mills Strike On July 9
The textile mills in Tamil Nadu have called for a one day work stoppage on July 9 protesting against the “abnormal hike in cotton prices and entry of multinationals” in speculative trade in cotton. It is probably for the first time in the history of textile industry that mills belonging to different associations and industry segments have come together to announce work stoppage.In a joint statement issued here on Saturday, the Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills’ Association (TASMA), Dindigul, South India Small Spinners’ Association (SISSPA), Coimbatore, Madurai Spinners Association, Annur Spinning Mills Association and India Spinning Millowners’ Association (ISMA), Coimbatore, said despite a bumper crop of 315 lakh bales of cotton in the current season compared to the requirement of 240 lakh bales during last year, the cotton prices have shot up by 45-50 per cent. The statement claimed that ‘all the cotton left the hands of farmers and gone into the hands of multinationals who in turn have exported cotton to our competitors such as China and Pakistan and now dictating terms in the domestic market’.
