India's power loom companies wage negotiations are still continuing

On the 6th, negotiations on salary issues among looms fabric makers and on-the-job workers in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts in India continued.

On the 5th, the joint labor commissioner participated in the negotiations, but no progress was made in the negotiations. Power looms workers in these two regions spent a week demanding a 100% increase in their wages. Fabric manufacturers provide yarn for these factories and then buy back the fabric.

According to the staff member, each loom produces 50 meters of fabric per day and the price is Rs 20 per meter. Nearly 200,000 working looms ceased production.

The wage agreement came into effect in 2009 and expired last month. Workers demand that their wages be increased by 100% because labor and electricity costs have multiplied. In recent weeks, they have held five rounds of negotiations with fabric company owners.

Fabric manufacturers say that due to the fact that fabric prices cannot be compared with yarn prices, they do not have the ability to raise wages.

In the past four months, cotton and yarn prices have plummeted by nearly 50%, so now fabric manufacturers have suffered losses.

They purchase yarn at a high price. Representatives of the fabric manufacturing associations in the two regions will decide on the next six days to take action based on the opinions of the regional officials.

They said that when fabric demand and prices rise, wages can also increase.