Pune: Support staff crunch hits Chakan industrial units

PUNE: Industrial units in the Chakan MIDC area have started production on Monday, but most are struggling to find adequate manpower.
Company officials are apprehensive that the shortage of helpers, security guards, drivers, cleaners and mess workers, among others, might impact the performance.
“We will have problems in the foundry as most of our workers are from north Indian states and have returned home. After a fortnight, we will ramp up production to full capacity and will run into problems as local people are not skilled to do this job,” Suresh Nair, a senior executive of Endurance Technologies, which supplies die-cast aluminium to auto companies, told TOI.
“Finding staff for housekeeping and canteens would also be an issue in the coming weeks,” he added.
“We had over 10 staffers involved in catering in three shifts. All of them have gone back to Bihar. Now, we don’t have staff for this work. We have approached private suppliers for manpower. Currently, we are working with 33% strength, but once we resume full production, it would be a big challenge,” a senior human resources official of a water purifier manufacturer said.
“Around 120 staffers were engaged in housekeeping and canteen work before the lockdown. Now, we have fewer than 50, It will be difficult for us to hire new staff and local residents are not skilled,” the supervisor of housekeeping and canteen section of an auto company said.
“Now private contractors will take advantage of the situation and will provide manpower at high rates. Most companies are worried — there are some sections in companies, like spear-part cutting, brushing of metals, breaking of iron coins, where only migrant workers were skilled,” Dilip Batwal, secretary of Federation of Chakan Industry, said.