Bihar elections done, Surat’s textile mills wait for workforce to return but train ticket availability remains an issue

To meet the demand for a timely supply of finished fabrics, dyeing and printing mill owners are spending more to have labour contractors bring workers back by rail or luxury buses.

Just before the Diwali festival, Chhath Puja, and the Bihar elections, over hundreds of festive trains, in addition to the regular trains, left Surat with workers for UP, Bihar, MP, Jharkhand, Odisha, etc. The dyeing printing mills have over 60 per cent of the workforce of Bihar, while 30 per cent are from UP, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, etc. The powerloom factories are primarily run by people from Odisha and UP.

A dyeing and printing mill owner in Sachin, Surat, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “We have paid the contractor to bring the labourers from UP and Bihar, either by railway or private luxury buses. During the Diwali festival, the mills remain closed for a week and restart soon. But this time, the holiday in the industry is longer, and the industry owners have to face losses in their business. Many orders, which were not met in time, were affected, and we have lost business.”

Around 400 dyeing and printing mills in Surat

There are approximately 400 dyeing and printing mills in Surat city, primarily located in the Pandesara, Sachin, Kadodara, and Palsana areas. After the Diwali festival, labourers generally return to work, but the Chhath puja, coupled with the two-phase Bihar elections and, before that, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), have impacted the operations of dyeing and printing units in Surat, according to industry sources.

A dyeing and printing mill owner in Pandesara, Pramod Chaudhary, said, “The Diwali holidays of ten days or more are not feasible for the industry. Currently, there is a shortage of workers. Labourers from UP have started arriving in the city, but the inflow of labourers may increase in the coming days as per their availability of train tickets. It would take until the last week of November for the industry to regain full momentum.”

“We told labour contractors to manage the workers, as we are also worried about losing business by not supplying finished fabrics on time. Over 60 per cent of the machinery is operational, while the rest is shut down. The question is, how many more days must we endure this? Special trains were arranged to take labourers back to their native places, but no facilities were provided for their return,” he added.

“Those labourers who want to return have to struggle to get railway tickets on regular trains, which are in short supply. The situation is critical, and we must somehow manage it.”

Ramesh Patel, a native of Jaunpur in UP who manages labour contracts for seven machines in the printing department of a textile mill at Sachin, said, “Due to the shortage of labourers, the existing workers who have not returned to their native place are working for 36 hours. Generally, in a dyeing and printing mill, a shift is 12 hours long. However, if their reliever does not arrive, they must work the night shift and then continue working the next day’s 12-hour shift. We are in contact with the labourers who have gone to UP and Bihar.”

“We have booked and sent railway tickets to them. We have to bear the pressure from the mill owners to bring in labourers. The UP labourers have started returning slowly, and now, as the results of the Bihar election have been declared, they are expected to start arriving in the coming days, with some already having arrived after the first phase of polling.”

Higher wages for extra hours

Southern Gujarat Textile Processors Association president Jitu Vakhariya said, “There is a shortage of more than 30 per cent of workers in the mills. A single printing machine, which typically requires eight to ten workers, is currently being operated by just four to six workers. Despite the increased salaries, the mill owners have adopted a temporary solution to overcome the fatigue and absence of workers. The textile workers are paid higher wages for extra hours of work in the mills.”

He added, “Only 60 per cent of dyeing and printing mills have been able to restart after the Diwali holiday, with over 60 per cent of production affected by a shortage of workers. The more serious issue is that inquiries about orders for upcoming marriage seasons, Pongal, and Eid have begun at the mills, which will likely lead to an increase in demand for goods.”

Vakhariya said, “The labourers in UP and Bihar, when contacted by the contractors, give reasons that the trains are full, and there are no tickets or reservations. Some of the mills have started sending railway tickets to the labourers to bring them. The mill owners have to bear such expenses. Even some of the contractors have sent private luxury transport to bring back the labourers from UP and Bihar. We are hopeful that the textile mills will fully function after November 25.”