Daily wager out of job, surviving on dad and mom’ pension
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Yarn of life stretched to the restrict for each day wagers resembling Chitra in capital mill
For eight years, Chitra, a each day wager on the National Textile Corporation’s (NTC) Vijayamohini mills right here, had earned simply sufficient to fulfill her household’s bills. Now, for the previous one yr, the household of six has been relying on the old-age pensions of her dad and mom.
When the NTC closed down its 23 spinning mills following the COVID-19-induced lockdown in March final yr, Vijayamohini mills too downed its shutters and remained closed for a couple of yr.
When the mill reopened in March this yr, non permanent staff weren’t known as again. It once more closed for some weeks for high quality verify of the fibre uncooked materials earlier than reopening on June 1. But not even the everlasting staff who had labored throughout the interval haven’t been paid their salaries for the previous two months, whereas greater than 150 non permanent staff stay forgotten.
“I used to get ₹427 for a day’s work. I was supposed to become a permanent worker in 2020, when the mill closed down due to COVID-19. We were told that we will be called back when there is work. But they have neither called us or paid anything,” Chithra says.
Daughters’ research
Her husband, a each day wager, used to earn some cash when there was work. But throughout the lockdown, even he can’t go out for work. Their daughters, aged 14 and 11, at the moment are attending on-line lessons. The complete household now survives on the welfare pensions that Chithra’s dad and mom get.
“Even to recharge the phone for them to attend online classes, we need a few hundred rupees. From this year onwards, the younger daughter will also need a phone, but we have no money to buy one,” says Chithra.
The Vijayamohini mill is at present operating a lot beneath capability, because the uncooked materials can also be operating out.
“There is only enough cotton to run the mill for 3-4 more days. The NTC has still not sent any raw material from Mumbai, citing paucity of funds,” says M.T.Antony, secretary of the Trivandrum Textile Workers’ Union, affiliated to the CITU.
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