Apparel Online India Magazine May 1-15, 2019 | Page 19

LEAD STORY
has one factory which has a monthly
capacity of 4 million pieces. A second unit
was in the pipeline but the fate of this unit
is yet uncertain. The Shahi Exports employs
more than 2,000 workers here, most of
them being women. The MFL has a strength
of 1,500 people overall.
In September 16-30, 2016 edition of
Apparel Online, we did a detailed report
on invitation from the Odisha Government,
with interviews of top bureaucrats of Odisha
on how the state can be the next frontier
for apparel manufacturing. The story
detailed on the benefits of the state for the
garment manufacturing industry and how
the State Government is proactively working
in this regard. The outlook was indeed
very positive, but today three years later,
the picture is not that rosy…
Wage hike impact
Wage hike is one of the major setbacks for
apparel manufacturing in Odisha apart from
the labour availability issue. Its low-cost
was one of the major reason of motivation
for the apparel manufacturers to start
their operations in the state. Now with the
increase in wages, even for an unskilled
worker, every day a unit has to pay Rs. 80
more compared to earlier wage. This means
Rs. 2,080 per month (for 26 working days) as
extra cost per work.
Similarly, for a skilled worker, the factory
has now to pay daily Rs. 130 extra, i.e.
Rs. 3,380 per month. According to this
calculation, a factory having total workforce
of 100 workers (50 unskilled and 50 skilled)
has to pay monthly Rs. 2,73,000 extra, which
is a big burden for a small factory having
50-70 machines.
Category Old
wage New
wage Hike
percentage
Unskilled 200 280 40
Semi-skilled 220 320 45
Skilled 240 370 54
Highly skilled 260 430 65
Wage per day (in Rs.)
High absenteeism
Increased wages were applicable from
November 2018 and it is being hoped that
it will not increase further as this is a
“Yes, it is true that there
are not many names as
far as Odisha’s garment
manufacturing is concerned.
And to develop it, steps from
both sides are required like
apparel manufacturers have
to come forward and take
risk. State machinery has to
speed up its working and the
State Government does need
to think about its freebies
policies. As far as wage hike is
concerned, it is totally justified
and apparel manufacturers
are getting enough subsidies.
So they should have no much
issue in this regard,” shared
a Government official, who is
involved in skill development
initiatives regarding the apparel
industry, on the request of
anonymity when Apparel
Online approached him for
official comment.
www.apparelresources.com | MAY 1-15, 2019 | Apparel Online India
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