Garment makers to go on two-day strike next week

With no breakthrough achieved in their talks with the government over rollback of 10% excise duty on branded apparel, garment manufacturers today said they will go on a two-day nationwide strike next week.

Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), an industry body that claims to represent over 20,000 companies in India, including ready made garment manufacturers, exporters and retailers, said talks with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and other government officials have remained inconclusive.

"Nothing concrete has come out (although) the Finance Minister has said we will look into it," CMAI President Rahul Mehta told reporters here.

Hence, the garment manufacturers led by CMAI will shut their factories for two days next week, he added.

"It will be an all India 'bandh' for manufacturers on this coming Monday and Tuesday," Mehta said.

The two-day strike could result into a loss of up to Rs 700 crore, he claimed, adding when the garment manufacturers went on a one day strike on March 4 it had resulted in a loss of Rs 300 crore.

Mukherjee had announced a levy of 10% excise duty on branded apparel in the Budget for 2011-12.

Mehta said the duty will adversely affect the garment industry, estimated to be around Rs 1,50,000 crore, with products price hikes likely to lead to lesser production and ultimately job losses.

The new move by the government could lead to a decline in the growth of the sector, he said.

"Instead of growing by 12-15% we might de-grow about 10-12%," Mehta said, adding the sector had been growing at a rate of around 12-15%.

Meanwhile, Retailers Association of India (RAI), which went on a one-day strike on March 7 said it was still talking to the government to rollback the excise on branded apparel.

"Talks are going on with various people in the government but there has not been any concrete decision yet," RAI CEO Kumar Rajgopalan said.