Industrial production is gaining ground, labor shortages are a hurdle

Nagpur:- Industrial activity is slowly picking up in Vidarbha but due to the migration of their employe’s several units are facing a shortage of skilled labour. With the central government launching daily trains for migrant workers, there is the more trained staff going home.

Madhusudan Rungta, president of the Association of MIDC Industries, Chandrapur, said that only 50% of sponge iron units were working in the city due to a shortage of skilled employees. “The majority of the staff running the furnace and producing steel billets are from outside the state. Most have gone home and would not be in a mood to visit. We ‘re doing our very best to persuade them. The government should be providing them with opportunities to return to work, “he told.

The industrialist further said that as 30% of their workers had left, the textile, construction and power sectors also faced problems. Suresh Rathi, president of the Association of Vidarbha Industries (VIA), said that in the area between 50% and 60% of factories had begun to work. “Export-oriented units (EOUs) all work. And most of us face a shortage of labor. We have replaced unskilled migrant workers with local ones but training local people in skilled jobs would take a long time. We’ve urged the Nagpur collector to train local people in ITIs, polytechnics, and so on to do professional industrial work so this problem won’t arise in the future, “Rathi said.

While the government provided 20% extra working capital without hassles, many industrialists are in a dilemma as to whether to take out loans because they may not receive orders later and would have to repay loans back. “The state government will waive MSEDCL ‘s fixed lockout charges for the time span. We’re going to have to pay the charges for three months at one go and this is a huge problem for us, “Rathi added.

Nitin Lonkar, president of the Butibori Manufacturers’ Association (BMA), said most of the workers in Butibori were locals, but those residing in the district of Wardha were unable to enter the work because inter-district travel was prohibited. “About 75 to 80% of factories have begun operations. Mostly we supply the electricity, mining and cement sectors and therefore we face problems of order, “he added.

Chandrashekhar Shegaonkar, president of the Association of MIDC Industries, Hingna, said that most of the employees were from the district of Nagpur and therefore the shortage of labour was not a major issue. “Other workers can not get travel passes. Industries work at a capacity of 30 to 40%, as there are no fresh orders. We complete orders issued prior to lockdown. The government should send us 50% working capital, as 20% is inadequate, “Shegaonkar said.

Rajkumar Bilala, president of the Association of Akola Industries, said they were not shut down as most of the industries were food processing ones. “We are facing a shortage of labor, however, as workers have returned to Madhya Pradesh,” he said.