State urged to redress powerloom workers’ issues

Coimbatore: The Coimbatore Labour union association executive meeting held here on Sunday urged the Tamil Nadu government to redress the miserable conditions of the power-loom workers in this and neighbouring Tirupur district.

The meeting was led by the association president V.S. Sundarum. The AITUC state general secretary N. Selvaraj presided over the meeting.

According to a resolution passed in the meeting, more than one lakh power-looms run round the clock in Tirupur district, giving employment to over three lakh workers.

Most powerlooms are housed in tiny places to evade factory and other labour laws.

It is very difficult to find out who is the owner of the unit. The room is rented out by one person, the loom is owned by another, the raw material is bought by a third party.

The person contracting the workers could manage several small units.

While Tirupur has a large floating population, most workers are not voters, and its district administration is far less accountable. Most workers live where they work.

Nearly 80 per cent of the labourers suffer from tuberculosis.

Unhygienic living conditions with no proper toilets make workers even more vulnerable to several diseases like dengue and malaria.

Power-loom owners pay a marginal wage to workers and treat them as bonded labours. So the district administration should take action to change the condition of power-looms workers, the resolution said.