Uncertain road ahead for MSME units post lockdown

TNN | Apr 8, 2020, 04:37 IST

Coimbatore: Industrialists in the district are keeping their fingers crossed on the course of action after the 21-day lockdown ends on April 14.
Many of them are unsure whether to start operations at one go or in a staggered manner. Some said they were confused as norms of physical distancing do not work for labour-intensive industries.
R Ramamurthy, president of Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (Codissia), said the Union ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises on Tuesday had asked industry associations to spell out their plans post lockdown, on maintaining precautions and physical distancing, but several industrialists were uncertain on the course of action.
In some units such as injection moulding firms, maintain physical distancing is not practically feasible. “We are mulling whether to start operations with 50% capacity or to have a shift-based system,” Ramamurthy said.
A few industrialists are apprehensive of starting their operations altogether. “Even if one worker is infected, the entire facility would be quarantined… the best way would be to wait till the Covid-19 curve gets flattened,” he said.
Owners of micro enterprises said they were staring at a threefold uncertainty — orders, workers and machines.
J James, district president of Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Tiny Enterprises, said many were not sure whether the orders they had received before the lockdown would still stand after April 14. “Also, guest workers have started asking employers to get them tickets back home once the lockdown is over. We are not sure if they’ll return to work,” said James.
Maintenance of equipment in micro enterprises is also a prime concern. Automated machines have to be run once in two days at least, to ensure continuity. “Or else, their batteries would get affected,” he said.