AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and former chief minister O Panneerselvam urge Tamil Nadu government to resolve powerloom workers’ strike

Chennai: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and former chief minister O Panneerselvam have urged govt to take measures to end the strike of the powerloom workers, stressing their various demands, including a wage hike.
In a statement on Thursday, Palaniswami said there are lakhs of workers who depend on this industry. The powerloom industry is hit by the three-time increase in power tariff, taxes, and wages given to workers are very low, he said. Now, workers are on strike demanding a wage hike and there is no breakthrough in the talks with workers, said Palaniswami. The livelihood of lakhs of powerloom workers is affected due to this strike, Palaniswami said.
The AIADMK leader accused state govt of not taking steps to end the strike and urged govt to take measures to end it immediately.
In his statement on Thursday, Panneerselvam said the agreement was made to increase wages of powerloom workers once every three years on Feb 15, 2022, but it was not implemented. He said chief minister M K Stalin should intervene in the issue.