Labour shortage in garment manufacturing units of Delhi-NCR again has created challenges for hundreds of apparel exporters in this region. There are boards outside many factories looking for workers, and announcements for ‘workers requirement’ are being made even through e-rickshaws.’
Owing to scarcity of workers, factories are being forced to work overtime, and in night shifts, to complete orders on time.
There are various factors responsible for the shortage of labour. Majority of the factories have good orders as of now, while a lot of workers are back to their villages for marriages as well as for agriculture-related activities.
Labour shortage has always been an annual concern for the industry during this season, but this time the struggle is a bit more,as a chunk of workers, post-Covid, have not come back or have moved to other industry/business.
It is also pertinent to mention here that despite workers’ shortage and constant struggle to attract new workers, factories are not offering any lucrative wages to get workers. Besides minimum wages, factories are giving Rs. 1,000 as a monthly bonus for full attendance.
“Yes, there is worker shortage but the industry is not in the position to give higher wages to attract workers as price pressure is already very high. The raw material cost has increased like anything so it has been very much difficult,” said Vivek Saxena, Director, Moissanite Apparels. The company is one of the leading apparel exporters of Noida,and works with prestigious retailers likeCarrefour and few more.
Similar is the situation in Gurugram as orders are in plenty with the local exporters and workers are mostly migrants. While confirming the same, HKL Magu, MD, Jyoti Apparels and ex-Chairman of AEPC said “Orders are there left and right, but we are managing it somehow as labour shortage is an issue.”
And this shortage is despite lot of effort to enhance skill development in the apparel manufacturing industry. Many companies of Delhi-NCR have started their factories in the states where labour availability is notan issue. Matrix Clothing, Gurugram is also one such factory, having a unit in Ranchi (Jharkhand).
Adarsh Sharan, CEO of the company says, “Orders are expected to be good in the coming season also,and so the industry needs to see labour issue from long-term perspective.”