Tirupur: The knitwear unit owners should provide reasonable bonus to theiremployees in accordance with inflation, the trade unions urged garment manufacturing factories.
The unions including CITU, AITUC, LPF, MLF, INTUC and HMS on Tuesday conducted a special meeting ahead of the Deepavali festival.
N Sekar, general secretary of Banian Factories Labour Union, Tirupur AITUC said, “The labourers were affected by inflation. Hence they were expecting that the units will provide reasonable advance bonus, at least 20 days before the festival.”
The trade unions also said except few garment manufacturing factories, most of the other companies have been violating the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act, 2015 in this front every year.
As per the act, the companies should pay a minimum 8.33% of the labourers’ monthly salaries. Nowadays, a major part of the labourers working in the garment manufacturing factories have opted to receive weekly wages as per the number of pieces of garment they stitch or iron or other works, rather than the working shifts, the trade unions said.
“The units have created a picture that there is no need to provide bonus to the ‘piece-rate’ labourers, especially ‘singer tailor’ and ironing labourers. But it is clearly a violation of the Bonus Act. The units should overcome the custom and provide bonus to the piece-rate labourers too,” Sekar added.
ED 220 Srimathi
