Garment manufacturers, who are pitching for removal of the Budget proposal for 10 per cent excise duty on readymade garments, will again observe a two-day nationwide strike from tomorrow.
The manufacturers had earlier gone on strike on March 4.
Around 200,000 garment makers in New Delhi, Tripura, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bangalore have decided to shut their units on Monday and Tuesday, as talks with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for a roll back have remained inconclusive.
“Already met twice with the finance minister but nothing has come from his side till date,” Intimate Apparel Association of India (IAAI) President Rakesh Grover said.
IAAI is an association of about 500 manufacturers and retailers.
Mukherjee had announced a levy of 10 per cent excise duty on branded apparel in the Budget for 2011-12.
Grover said all manufacturers will gather at Ram Lila Maidan here, followed by a march towards Jantar Mantar.
He said the nationwide bandh could cause an estimated loss of around Rs 500 crore a day and impact the supply chain and wages of the labourers who work “on pieces-per-day basis”.
However, he said manufacturers would try to compensate the tailors from their own pockets “but a few of them might lose their wages”.