The long-standing wage issue for Tirupur Garment workers has finally reached its fruition, with a four-year wage agreement being signed between Tirupur Employers’ Association (garment/knitwear units at Tirupur) and the trade unions on April 5. The agreement came into effect on April 1 2016, and will remain so till March 31, 2020.
In this regard, Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA) President A Sakthivel said that a host of discussions have been held between senior officials and the presidents of the employees’ association and representatives of eight trade unions, apart from the respective labour sub-committee members from all associations.
After consulting with joint committee chairman S Duraisamy and the presidents and members of other associations, a four-year wage pact was proposed, which was eventually accepted by the unions.
According to the statement released after acceptance of the agreement, the agreement stipulates that employees, working under categories such as cutting, tailoring, ironing, packing, fabrication, checking, label putting, hand folding, damage spotting and fabrication will get a 33 per cent hike, over a period of four years in the ratio of 18 per cent, 5 per cent, 5 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively. Additionally, the dearness allowance (DA) has been fixed at Rs 1,500 per month for CPI numbers (15,000), and for every rise in points above 15,000, 13 paisa per point will be credited. Travelling allowance of Rs 20/day will be given to employees for all working days. It has also been agreed to provide Rs 25 to workers in half-night shifts.
Specific provisions have been made for unmarried girls based on their years of service, in the form of marriage allowances varying from a minimum of Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000, when they reach the legal age. The allowance also applies to widows remarrying, but not applicable to workers having less than one year service. The maximum allowance given will be Rs 3,000 for more than 3 years of service.
The agreement has also made specific provisions for family welfare, with a proposed family benefit fund of Rs 17,000 to be given to dependents of workers who die in harness. In addition to this, a Rs 1 lakh group insurance scheme for all workers has been agreed upon. The negotiated agreement is going to benefit over 4 lakh garment workers in Tirupur who earnerd 45 a day to a maximum of Rs 158 a day, depending on the nature of jobs.
