In Tamil Nadu, the textile industry has appealed to the Government to include spinning, weaving, knitting, processing and vertically integrated textile units under continuous process industry category and permit them to run between 10 pm and 4 am.
Industry experts believe that the time restrictions between 10 pm and 4 am and lockdown on Sundays would curtail two-thirds of the production as the manufacturing units would be in a position to work only in one shift for six days in a week and have to stop production for two shifts and also on Sundays.
That would make over 75 per cent of workers jobless, which would have severe impact on the industry and livelihood of the people.
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It may be mentioned here that the Government of Tamil Nadu on 18 April 2021 had imposed certain restrictions with effect from 20 April 2021 to curb the second wave of COVID-19 including 10 pm to 4 am time restrictions and lockdown on Sundays.
Ashwin Chandran, Chairman, Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), expressed his concern over the decision of stopping of industrial units during night hours between 10 pm and 4.00 am, and on Sundays. He stated that the textile industry has to work 24 x 7 across the value chain especially in the case of spinning, weaving, knitting, processing and vertically integrated units and the shift timings are normally from 7 am to 3 pm, 3 pm to 11 pm and 11 pm to 7 am.
The textile employee mobility will be normally between 10 pm and 1 am for the third shift employees to report for work, and the second shift employees to return home after completing the work at 11 pm.
He further said that that the industry is taking all care to adopt SOPs and also vaccinating the employees of 45 years and above on a fast track and therefore, such restrictions are not required for the manufacturing activities.