Industry shutdown must end

Industry must be allowed to resume operations in areas other than the identified hotspots with proper safety guidelines in place as soon as possible

The International Labour Organization (ILO) made an important point on Wednesday: that immediate efforts are needed to support formal workers and enterprises to ensure that they do not “fall back into informality” as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. The ILO has hit the nail on the head, as it is by now obvious that the country just can’t afford a blanket extension of the lockdown after April 14.

The ILO data shows why: According to its estimates, around 400 million workers from the informal sector may fall into poverty as the ongoing nationwide lockdown, which began on March 25,