Industrial estates in wait-and-watch mode

Entrepreneurs cite labour shortage, non-availability of raw materials, lack of transport as key reasons

Despite a green signal from the State government to industrial estates to resume operations, several entrepreneurs have decided to wait for a few more days, citing fear psychosis, labour shortage, non-availability of raw materials, lack of transportation and capital crunch, among other reasons.

“Most units are under lock and key due to the non-availability of workers,” said N. Suresh, senior vice-president of the Chennai Metro Small and Micro Industries’ Association. Pointing to a restaurant that remains shut, he said, “Shops and restaurants whose businesses depend on the workers have also not opened since the lockdown.”

On Monday, workers at an industrial unit in Guindy were making plastic moulds to be sent to a consumer durable firm. They were wearing masks, while also following physical distancing norms. Renny Jose, managing partner of Core Plasto Enterprises, who takes care of the unit, said, “The next three months will be tough. Our orders have fallen by 50%. With no public transport, many women are not able to make it to work.”

Tackling fear

The people’s perception of COVID-19 is another key challenge that most industrial estates face. “With the number of cases increasing and Chennai being the hotspot, parents of workers are scared. This needs to be tackled,” said A.N. Sujeesh, president, Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers’ Association. He added that many units were running with a handful of workers and some had not even resumed operations yet.

The Association held a meeting with State government officials and officers from the Police Department on Monday. The members were told to provide additional protein to workers and ensure that they shave off their beards.

At the SIDCO industrial estate in Coimbatore, all 275 industries have been open since May 6. But labour shortage, lack of clarity on market and non-availability of some raw materials have been hampering operations. A majority of migrant workers have returned to their home States and a number of women workers are unable to make it to work due to the lack of public transport.

In Perundurai, most of the 150-odd industries located in the SIPCOT industrial estate started functioning from the third week of May, after obtaining permission from the district administration. Textile processing units, tannery units and old tyre retreading units exist here in large numbers, and over 6,500 workers are employed here. With about 10% migrant workers leaving for their home States in the past one week, industries are currently operating with 60%-70% workforce.

Production in industrial units at SIDCO industrial estates at Ariyamangalam, Tiruverumbur, Thuvakudi and Vazhavanthankottai in Tiruchi district and Mathur in Pudukkottai district continues to be sluggish, despite them having restarted operations in mid-May, following the relaxation of lockdown norms. While lockdown restrictions have limited the scope for industries to deploy their full workforce, most production units, being ancillaries of BHEL, have work orders sufficient only for partial workforce, said proprietors. “With the present level of conversion orders, we can provide employment only for less than 50% of the workforce,” said R. Ilango, president of the Tiruchi District Tiny and Small Scale Industries’ Association.

Commute a concern

Industrial estates in Madurai district that began operations on May 6 have been running at around 60% capacity, said presidents of K. Pudur and Kappalur industrial estates.

Currently, food processing units, fabrication, textile and hardware industries are functioning out of the two SIDCO industrial estates. There are a total of 400 units in Kappalur and 80 units in Pudur, said a source from SIDCO.

However, the lack of transport and low margins are stopping industries from running from full capacity, he said. Pudur industrial estate president M.S. Sampath said that commute was a concern without public transport.

“We have to arrange buses to pick the workers up. But since they come from different areas, it is hard to pick all of them,” he added.

Kappalur industrial estate president P.N. Raghunatha Raja said that there were several breaks in the supply chain. “We have problems procuring goods from north India. Sales are not high so we have to reduce production. Trying to mobilise labour in place of north Indian labourers is a major point of concern too,” he said.

(With inputs from Sangeetha Kandavel and Sanjay Vijayakumar in Chennai, Sanjana Ganesh in Madurai, M.Soundariya Preetha in Coimbatore, S.P.Saravanan in Erode, and R.Krishnamoorthy in Tiruchi)