MSMEs across industrial hubs in Tamil Nadu that manufactures components for power sector have sought lockdown rules exemption by considering them as essential service providers. Citing the fall in income due to restricted working hours owing to the night curfew, MSME workers are leaving for other jobs seeking a better income.
Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association (TANSTIA), an apex body of all MSMEs across the state said there are around 30,000 MSMEs including the tier II units producing components for power generation and distribution firms. From operating three shifts per day, covering 24 hours, the MSMEs that were not exempted from the lockdown has reduced the working hours to a single 8-hour shift each day.
Similarly, from employing 50 workers per shift, the MSMEs now employ only 25 persons as per the restrictions. The limited employees and period of operation have reduced the production output by at least 50%. As the workforce was denied an opportunity to work overtime and on Sundays to earn an additional income of around Rs 300 per shift per day. “If automobile industries can be given an exemption to work amid lockdowns, why not us? We are producing components important for electricity generation and transmission,” R Ilango, president, Trichy District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association (Tiditssia) said.
The MSMEs sought the district industries centre (DIC), State MSME department to allow the essential manufacturing units in the districts to function amid the curfew by ensuring the restrictions. “If we fail to deliver the product on deadline, we have to pay a certain sum as delay penalty. Already, the surge in steel price by 60% has destabilised us. Power sector MSMEs need exemptions to operate for the usual duration,” S Vasudevan, joint secretary, TANSTIA said.
The power sector MSMEs in Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore, Ranipet and Ramanathapuram districts are producing electrical substation, transformer and metering panel components for various electricity boards including Tangedco. “The demand raised by MSMEs was genuine, we have taken their request seriously. Senior bureaucrats will discuss and fetch a solution,” a senior official in the MSME department said.
