Two rounds of talks fail to resolve powerloom wage issue

With two rounds of talks having failed to resolve the issue of wages of powerloom job working units in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts, the indefinite strike entered the 14th day today, with an estimated production loss of Rs 700 crore.
The collectors of Coimbatore and Tirupur districts, Archana Patnaik and S Jayandhi respectively held talks with the stakeholders, power loom job working unit owners and textile manufacturers, on February 4 and 9.
However, the agreement eluded both rounds of talks, necessitating another round fixed for February 14, official sources said here today.
Powerloom job working units have been on agitational path since January 28, claiming that manufacturers were not paying wages as per the agreement in 2014 to give 27 and 30 per cent hike, based on the fabric variety.

Both districts house more than two lakh powerloom units, and the strike has affected nearly five lakh persons both directly and indirectly besides impacting related industries, like yarn suppliers.