Over 90 % of Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Coimbatore district stopped production for a day on Monday, resulting in a loss of nearly ₹1,500 crore. The unit owners and workers also staged a protest here against the rising prices of raw materials.
Responding to the strike call given by the All India Council of Associations of MSMEs, over 90 % of the MSMEs here and some of the large-scale industries and traders too participated in the protest and strike.
M.V. Ramesh Babu, president of Coimbatore District Small Industries Association, said apart from the MSMEs in the city, the units in rural areas and industrial estates too downed shutters on Monday. Representatives of the industry associations later submitted a memorandum of their demands to Collector G.S. Sameeran. The government should remove the anti-dumping duty on some of the raw materials. The public sector enterprises and government agencies should revise the prices for the orders given to MSMEs so that the units were able to complete the works.
According to K.V. Karthik, president of Southern India Engineering Manufacturers Association, the response from the pumpset sector was total with the larger manufacturers also stopping production. The price rise was steep for almost all the raw materials used by the industries and frequent too. The prices rose steeply in October and November affecting production in MSMEs. In the recent days, there was a small reduction in prices. What the industries need was stability in prices of raw materials, he said.
President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, C. Balasubramanian said several traders, who were dealing with industrial products such as textile machinery and electrical items, participated in the demonstration.
The industry had sought the intervention of the government to stop export of raw materials, waive import duty on raw materials for a specific period and formation of a price monitoring committee. “The government should intervene,” he said.
J. James, president of Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Tiny Enterprises, said the response from the micro units for the strike and protest was spontaneous and total because the unit owners were hit by raw material prices. They were finding it difficult to continue work.
According to C. Sivakumar, president of Coimbatore and Tirupur District Tiny and Micro Enterprises Association, all the micro units took part as they were unable to take up orders and execute the works because of the high prices.
Published - December 20, 2021 11:44 pm IST
