As there are various reports in the mainstream media and social media regarding the migrant workers in Tamil Nadu, leading trade bodies of textile industries have come forward and said that there is no need to panic on this issue.
With rumour-mongers and a section of Bihar’s politicians triggering panic among Hindi-speaking labourers claiming they were being targeted in Tamil Nadu, the State government and industrialists stepped in to assure the labourers of their safety.
There are lakhs of migrant workers in Tamil Nadu those belonging to Bihar, Odisha, Chattisgarh, Uttarkhand, Assam, West Bengal, etc.,
The employment of migrant workers is not just confined only to the textile industry but also prevalent in other industrial and service sectors as well.
The Labour Minister, in a statement, accused miscreants of spreading rumours on social media with an ‘ulterior motive’ and said labourers were aware there was no truth in such claims.
In a Press Meet, T.Rajkumar, Chairman, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) and Ravi Sam, Chairman, The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) stated that there is no discrimination between the local workers and the migrant workers in terms of wages and both of them are treated equally by industry.
Both were of the view that in fact, the industry is providing hostel accommodation with food based on the needs of the migrant workers. However, in the recent few weeks a section of the group and political outfits are making a hue and cry over the engagement of migrant workers and demanding that the migrant workers (hailing from North India) should not be permitted to work in Tamil Nadu.
They further stated that such groups are sowing the seeds of hatred in the minds of working people in Tamil Nadu, against the engagement of migrant workers. Such attitudes and demands from these sections would pose a danger to an industrially developed state like Tamil Nadu and affect the performance of the industry, as a whole. They have pointed out that unless this issue is sorted out in the initial stage itself, it would ruin the industrial growth in the state when particularly the Government of Tamil Nadu is making efforts to bring sizeable investments to the State.
As per them, in reality, there is no clash between the migrant workers and the local workers and the circulation of WhatsApp news is false and not revealing the true state of affairs. This has been highlighted by the Director General of Police in his video clippings. The video clipping taken in the railway station has been twisted as if there is a clash between the north Indian and south Indian workers.
They informed that on 2nd March 2023, there was a virtual meeting organised by the Coimbatore District Collector among the industry Association wherein, he explained the real position and that there is no truth in the so-called clash among the workers, but at the same, steps were being taken to give confidence for the migrant workers to work peacefully in Tamil Nadu.
Ravi Sam said that the social media news is spread out of proportion and both the migrant workers and the industry need not panic.
Both appealed to the state government to take serious action against troublemakers through the concerned departments and protect the industry and the working class and maintain industrial peace in the state.
