AEPC urges Centre to pay April, May wages of apparel sector workers

New Delhi: The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) on Monday wrote to the Prime Minister urging the government to pay the wages of workers engaged in the apparel exporting industry for April and May to bail out the sector amid the coronavirus crisis.

AEPC Chairman A. Sakthivel wrote in the letter: “We humbly wish to inform that we are not in a position to pay wages for the months of April and May despite our best intention, as there is absolutely no production and no revenue stream.

He also informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the industry has cleared all wages for March dutifully.

According to Sakthivel, the government can pay wages from the funds available in the Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana (ABVKY) Scheme, which has reportedly huge reserves of about Rs 91,000 crore, as contributed by employees and employers.

Sakthivel said that the apparel exporting industry, which is a major employer, has been very badly impacted due to COVID-19 as principal export markets of the US and Europe are under lockdown since the past several weeks.

The sector urgently needs a big stimulus package from the government, he said.

“Buyers have not paid us for goods shipped months ago. On top of that they have cancelled or postponed deliveries of current orders. Overall, we estimate a loss of export of over $4 billion. Coupled with this, the lockdown in our country has also resulted in complete stoppage of work,” Sakthivel said.

Apparel products exported to the fashion retailers of the world have a shelf life of two-four weeks only and thereafter they sell at deep discounts, as per the industry body. (IANS)

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