Workers at 23 textile mills operated by the National Textile Corporation (NTC), including seven in Tamil Nadu, are now receiving their overdue wages from the Union Ministry of Textiles.
During a programme in Mumbai, Union Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal expressed regret over COVID’s impact on NTC mills, which were already struggling with losses and cash flow issues.
The salary dues from May, 2020 to December 2021 were cleared now and in another 30-40 days, dues for wages till the end of August 2022 would be cleared. “I am hopeful this process will continue and the salary up to date will be cleared at the earliest,” he said.
The Save NTC movement’s coordinator, T.S. Rajamani, stated that since COVID, the mills—seven of which were in Tamil Nadu and employed close to 3,000 people—had been shut down illegally. The labour force and labour unions had coordinated numerous demonstrations and submitted numerous petitions. According to him, the government had to consider ways to reopen the mills in addition to paying up the wage arrears.
