Power looms in Erode's Chennimalai cut weavers wages by Rs 5 per blanket

ERODE: Power loom weavers in Chennimalai, which is famous for its blankets or jamakaalam, allege that their wages have been reduced by Rs 5 per piece. N Arumugam, Powerloom Workers Union President of AITUC, said, “Weaving is the main occupation in Chennimalai with more than 5000 power loom units operating here. Around 3,000 workers are dependent on this. All power looms here produce blankets. A worker was paid Rs 27 for producing one blanket. A worker who works for 12 hours daily will get Rs 540. Three weeks ago, wages were cut by Rs 5 per piece.”

“Currently power loom unit owners are offering only Rs 21 to Rs 22 for one blanket. This means a cut of Rs 120 daily. He will have to work for four more hours to get Rs 540. We raised the issue with loom owners , but they are yet to respond,” he added.

“Prices of essential commodities are rising sharply. It is not right to reduce wages for workers in such circumstances. It does not matter if wages are not raised in line with the rise in prices. Wages should not be reduced,” said Karuppusamy, a power loom worker.

“We get up to Rs 55 from textile companies to produce one blanket. Now the order flow has decreased, and cost per order has also come down,” a power loom unit owner said. Soundararajan, secretary of Chennimalai power loom owners association, said, “As summer has started, sales have decreased. This is the reason why wages have been reduced. We will advise members not to reduce wages of the weavers”