Industry in Punjab runs short of hands

This summer, there are far fewer hands to keep industry running in Punjab. And, this has seriously affected production in the state.

Experts say usually around 15 per cent of the unskilled and semi-skilled workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar move out during the season for various reasons from April to June. But this year the outflow has been more than 20 per cent.

Experts cite various reasons like the beginning of the harvest season for wheat in April and the sowing of paddy thereof, the marriage season there and, of course, the intense heat in Punjab.

Though this is seen every year, this year the outflow is higher""of the 800,000-strong workforce in Ludhiana from Bihar and UP, about 20 per cent have moved out to their native states last month. They say every year, only about 10 per cent of the labourers moved out but this year has seen movement as high as 20 per cent.

The general secretary, Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings, Punjab, Avtar Singh, said: "The boom time in industry in Punjab coincides with the harvesting of wheat in Bihar followed paddy sowing. Various industries like cycle and cycle parts, hardware, and motors parts industries are the worst-hit. Cycle units have more than 75 per cent of their labour from these states and 20 per cent outflow of labour hampers production badly."

He said Ludhiana had about 800,000 labourers from UP and Bihar, of which 40 per cent were in cycle and cycle parts. The outflow begins in as early as the Holi and continues for about four months.

Similarly, in Amritsar there is about 12000-15000 labour from the states of Bihar and UP, out of which more than 20 per cent has gone back to their native places, affecting the engineering goods industry in Amritsar.

Arvind K Mehan, Member of Industries Association of Chandigarh says that almost 75 per cent of the labour in Chandigarh belong from these states and almost one-third of the labour is not there, hampering the fastener industry in Chandigarh, which employs the largest number of such labour. It has affected the production on the industry.

G S Kahlon, President of Punjab Auto Parts Manufacturing Association believes that in the coming time, the state is going to face the shortage of labour further as new industry has started coming up in Uttar Pradesh et al, where as no new industrial development is taking place here and labourers have stopped coming here.

Experts, however, say that the problem is more persistent with small units as they are unable to pay enough wages to attract the labour during this season and large industries do not face this problem due to their better paying capacities.

Mukand Rai Gupta, President, Jalandhar Rubber Goods Manufacturers Association says that in Jalandhar alone, there is 250,000-300,000 such labourers working in industries like rubber goods, handtools, valves and cocks, pipe fitting and sports and goods. About 25 per cent shortage has been seen during this season seriously affecting the industrial production in Jalandhar also.