Labour shortage for Delhi-NCR-based garment units after Diwali and Chatt Pooja is an annual affair but this year the issue has emerged even greater since even two weeks after the festivities, a lot of migratory workers have not come back to the factories.
It is also pertinent to mention here that currently most of the garment factories have good order volumes and the demand for workers is high. Some factories are also opting for overtime (OT) shifts to complete their orders on time. At the same time, it has been observed that many workers also shift their jobs if they get a higher wage compared to their existing factory.
Having apparel exports of around US $ 5 billion, Delhi-NCR has almost 2000 factories and nearly 4 lakh workers are employed in these apparel manufacturing factories. The majority of these workers are migrants from states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Many factories are facing absenteeism nearly as high as 15 per cent, which is severely impacting the orders that are in progress. The HR and admin teams of these factories are on their toes to bring back their workers.
“There are several reasons for this situation as workers are engaged in seasonal agricultural activities, marriage season and even sever pollution in Delhi-NCR also could be a factor that they are not in hurry to come back and join factories,” said Vivek Vyas, Wills & Ways LLP, Gurgaon. The company, works with some of the leading brands and e-commerce players.
The industry believes that the situation is expected to improve in the next 10-15 days and till then there aren’t many options they have to get a skilled workforce.
A few factories remain exceptions since the majority of their workers are on payroll, rather than on a contract basis and they also have allied facilities to make the workers work with them for longer periods of time.
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