Layoff in Chathannoor spinning mills hits over 350 families

KOLLAM: The layoff of Chathannoor spinning mills, the first spinning mill in the cooperative sector in south Kerala, has affected the livelihood of over 350 families. It is one of the several facing layoff for the last several months - five under the Kerala State Textiles Corporation, seven under the TextFed and two owned by the state government. The government had appointed the RIAB to suggest steps to revive these mills. The spinning mill managements had also submitted detailed reports before the RIAB.

A meeting was also held on the issue and it was proposed to sanction funds to reopen the mills. However, the government has given no assurance on the funds to be provided. The direction to have a centralised system for the purchase of cotton was also put forward by the RIAB. The purchasing committee included managing directors of all the public sector mills. A sub-committee should deal with the purchase of cotton from the Cotton Corporation of India, the central government agency. However, the biggest issue faced by the mills still remains unaddressed - finding proper market for the cotton produced in these mills.

"The account of the mill has been frozen as the management failed to pay the PF contribution of employees, which has been deducted from our salaries since 2014. A sum of  Rs 59 lakh was defaulted by the management. As many as 47 employees are yet to receive gratuity. Over 288 workers and other allied staff are in deep trouble with the layoff," Mr Mohana Sharma, an employee with the mills, told DC.

The government has also failed to provide the mills the money sanctioned by the NCDC in August 2015, which could have averted their current plight, he added. The mill management had submitted a project of  Rs 57 crore to the NCDC to improve the efficiency of the mill. The NCDC approved the project and issued  Rs 45.15 crore in August 2015. The mill with a spindle capacity of 25,000 started production in 1986 under the industries department.