Lok Sabha Debates
Need To Extend Social Security Benefits And Other Basic Facilities To The Workers ... on 27 July, 2009
> Title: Need to extend social security benefits and other basic facilities to the workers of Knitting Industry in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu-laid.
SHRI P.R. NATARAJAN (COMBATORE): Global economic recession has its ramifications in the lives of about three lakh workers of the Tiruppur Knitting Industry. Most of them are migrant labour from the other districts of Tamil Nadu. Both the labour force and the Knitting industry need protection through certain measures of the Government including financial assistance to the workers. Multi-storey dwelling units must be constructed to accommodate the migrant labour thronging the industrial town Tiruppur and these apartments may be provided under SPOS i.e. stay, pay and own scheme extending long term loans to these workers. To augment health care facilities for this working class the raising of ESI hospital must be speeded up. Hostels for working women and single men among them must be constructed. Primary schools and high schools must be exclusively established for ensuring basic education for the children of the workers of the Knitting units. Small entrepreneurs among them must get long term credit at lower interest rates. Noyyal river polluted by dye effluents must be cleaned and reclaimed for irrigation purpose. All the labour working in the Knitting units of Tiruppur now are covered under Industrial Disputes Act and other laws and rules of Labour Welfare Department of the Government and are paid Rs. 175 plus allowances as minimum wage per day. I urge upon the Union Government to intervene and nip in the bud the attempts reportedly made in some quarters to scale down and pay these workers a mere Rs. 80 per day by way of bringing this labour force under National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.