He had worked his way through the ranks of the textile industry in Bombay and now he is the works manager at the factory. He is also a sad and forlorn man now, for he will soon be unemployed.
“We had a final meeting with the GM. He wants to carry out the inevitable as soon as possible. He has assured us of a good VRS. But that will be possible only if he sells the land quickly. If land prices fall, our VRS will also evaporate.
“No. There was no way we could compete. Our plants are much less productive than the ones coming up in the North and in the South. Plants are coming up at the rate of one per month in places like Thirupur. They also have some rather ‘innovative’ labour practices. They really exploit workers over there.”
“How?”
“Just one example: They hire young girls – some as young as 18 years old. They are paid 25 rupees a day in the first year, 30 in the second and 35 in the third. The mill owners have built hostels in the factory premises, so that they stay all the time there. In their spare time, they are taught useful skills like sewing etc. In the third year, they are paid 25000 bucks and laid off. That’s no problem for them, because with this money, they can get married. And their livelihood is assured because they have useful experience.
“And of course those plants are really modern. They are worked three shifts. We tried to compete using temporary workers, but where can you get skilled temporary workers in Bombay at 125 rupees a day?”
“Who gives them jobs if all mills are closing?”
“Some have moved to Bhiwandi. Others ?ork as watchmen. Even watchmen get more than that these days. How’s your factory doing?”
“Tough. Chinese imports are making life difficult for us. We are finding it difficult to compete. Just yesterday I was looking for a drilling machine. Normally it costs 5000 bucks. I got it for 500 rupees. Can you believe it? Assembled in China.”
“You bought it?”
“Of course.”