Apparel exporters say the government should pay worker wages

The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) said on Monday stated that an overwhelming majority of exporters are facing a severe liquidity crisis due to COVID-19 and the government should pay their workers from funds available in the Atal Bimit Vyakthi Kalyan Yojana which has huge reserves of about Rs 91,000 crore.

"Our members are not only facing an acute fund crunch like many other industries but also incurring huge losses due to cancellation of orders and hefty discounts being asked by buyers," said AEPC Chairman A. Sakthivel.

This, coupled with the fact that there is no revenue generation during the lockdown, will lead to the closure of many factories and consequently result in huge job losses, he said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The industry is collapsing and looking for the much-needed ray of hope and support to survive and sustain," said Sakthivel.

"The government should come forward and stand by the apparel export industry to pay wages for workers for the months of April and May," he added.

Sakthivel said the apparel sector is highly labour-intensive where the wage bill is about 30 per cent of the product cost. At the same time, the sector works on low margins of four to five per cent.

He pegged the estimated loss of exports at four billion dollars and said the COVID-19 lockdown has resulted in complete stoppage of work.

The AEPC is the official body of apparel exporters in India and operates under the Ministry of Textiles.

( With inputs from ANI )