Thirty five to 50 thousand vacancies exist in the apparel industry according to an official of the 200 Garment Industries Programme.
"The government and the industry initiated an awareness programme early this year to attract young people to the apparel sector because we found that factories had a ‘severe’ shortage of labour. When the planning was done for Abhimani we calculated the number to be 35,000 but since then it has increased to about 50,000," S. Ravindran, Executive Committee Member of the government’s 200 Garment Factories Project, told The Island Financial Review.
"If we can attract another 50,000 apart from the shortfall, many investors will be willing to open up more garment factories. However, everything will depend on GSP+," he said.
However, the Joint Apparel Association Forum maintains that this is a misleading figure. According to JAAF it stands at around 10,000 and is the accurate figure coming from the apex body of the industry which comprises the apparel manufacturing sector and other sectors supporting the apparel industry.
Certain unions had in fact used these numbers game and compelled their members to take a tough stand for their demands believing that the industrialists could do nothing but concede or lose precious labour and to further their claims that the industry needed to get its act together with regard to the implementation of labour laws.
The industrialists are unhappy about any number being quoted above the 10,000, as the shortfall in labour is attributed to bad perceptions.
So while Ravindran said the shortfall is almost 50,000 and that when Abhimani was first mooted they had wanted the campaign to fill 35,000 vacancies. JAAF says its 10,000.
