Textile workers’ agitation ends

AHMEDABAD: The more than three-week-old textile workers’ strike concluded as the impasse between striking laborers and mills ended. With textile companies accepting to take back the sacked workers, more than 6,000 striking labourers resumed work on Saturday.
On June 4, a group of 300 workers from denim maker Arvind’s Naroda plant went on strike demanding a 40 per cent wage hike.In a chain effect, another 4,000 workers from Ankur, Ashima and Asarawa textiles went on a strike. Arvind and Ashima termed the strike as illegal and around 400 workers were sacked. Later workers asked for an interim relief of Rs 1,600 per month till the wage hike issue is finalized.
“Workers ended the strike after Arvind mills agreed to take back the sacked workers. However, no decision on the interim relief or wage hike has been taken. We had a meeting with labour commissioner and on Monday will sit for negotiations with Ahmedabad Textile Mills’ Association (ATMA) members,” said Amar Barot, general secretary, Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (TLA).
“Workers have ended the strike and production has become normal,” said Arvind CFO Jayesh Shah. In the 26-day-long, strike both Arvind and Ashima suffered heavy production losses.
The strike stretched as TLA, which is the representative of textile laborers, was not able to win the support of striking workers. ATMA had asked TLA to first bring a mandate to negotiate from workers and only then a meeting to discuss the demands of laborers can take place. Sources said that a divide between the workers helped TLA to gain ground.