With the power loom units launching a strike across Palladam in Tiruppur district on Sunday, the Department of Labour has announced to hold talks with job working power loom unit owners’ associations.
In a statement, Assistant Commissioner (Conciliation), Tiruppur, K. Senthikumaran said that the talks would be held at the Office of the Additional Commissioner of Labour, Coimbatore, at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
During the talks held on January 8, cloth manufacturers from Avinashi had told the power loom unit owners that of the 20 % increase in wages announced earlier for the Palladam variety of fabric, 10% would be provided immediately and the remaining 10% in stages. This was rejected by the power loom unit owners’ associations, according to the statement.
Cloth manufacturers from Tiruppur and Palladam and members of job working power loom unit owners associations will participate in the talks on Tuesday, Mr. Senthilkumaran said.
The Joint Commissioner of Labour, Coimbatore, has appealed to the power loom unit owners’ associations to await the decision of talks and not to engage in direct action.
During the talks held in Coimbatore on November 24 last year, the power loom cloth manufacturers and the job working units agreed on 23 % wage hike for the Somanur variety fabric and 20 % for other varieties in addition to the wage hike announced on March 25, 2014.
The revised wages were supposed to be provided from December 1. However, the cloth manufacturers, citing hike in yarn prices, told the power loom unit owners that the revised wages would be given in stages, leading to the announcement of the strike.
