India’s leather segment loses 75.000 jobs. With very few orders, many businesses in Vellore, Turupathur and Ranipet have started to layoff workers. A concerning situation that could have grave repercussions on the entire social system.
India’s leather segment loses 75.000 jobs
Tanneries, footwear manufacturers and makers of leather goods were able to reopen their doors in May after the end of the lockdown. Almost all did so at a reduced capacity, so as to limit expenses, as orders from clients all over the world have been cut, if not completely cancelled. “About 50% of workers lost their jobs”, explained Tamil Nadu Trade Union Center’s General Secretary, J Ruban to newindianexpress.com. The smaller districts such as Vellore, Tirupathur and Ranipet were the most hit, as it’s estimated that about 75.000 jobs have been lost so far.
Struggling families
Covid-19 has generated a grave employment crisis that has been aggravated by the fact that the majority of jobs lost were worked by women from rural areas and the poorer zones of India. The few that were able to continue working have suffered a reduction in number of hours worked, and thus salary. Sadly, many of those that had come to the industrialized areas had gotten bank loans to purchase houses that they can no longer sustain. “The pandemic’s impact on workers was very grave – explained Pradeep Krishnan, coordinator at a non-for-profit focused on workers’ compensation, to the Indian newspaper -. The majority of them comes from social sectors in distressed and cannot find alternative work”.
Read also:
- Indian and Bangladeshi tanning does not take off again due to provisions and cash
- China, India, Brazil and Portugal: The Covid Storm hits footwear
