Small units put in a spin

Thousands of small and micro enterprises in and around the city were hit by the strike called by employees of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC).

Most of these enterprises, especially garment factories, wore a deserted look as most employees failed to turn up due to lack of transport.

According to Raj Purohit, the immediate past president of Karnataka Hosiery & Garments Association, there are 3,000 garment units in and around Bangalore, employing more than two lakh people. “Around 20% of these units can afford to have transport facility for staff. Others have to depend on BMTC buses to reach garment factories. Garment factories had to incur more than Rs10-crore loss due to absence of workers,’’ Purohit said.

Many garment factory owners consider the strike as a double whammy. Majority of them have to honour the agreement of supplying garments in time and even a slight delay invites penalty or even cancellation of the work order.

“Around 60 employees came late by three hours. No production for three hours is a big blow to a garment factory. I do not know how to compensate the loss of manhours due to the BMTC strike,’’ said Nagaraj, Production Manager, Texport Syndicate India Ltd, Yeshwanthpur.

There are more than 8,000 small and micro industrial units at Peenya Industrial Estate. More than five lakh people are employed here. According to industry sources, 25% of the employees failed to turn up on Thursday.

“The BMTC and KSRTC employees’ strike had affected industrial production at Peenya Industrial Estate, the biggest in Asia. Though 75% employees have managed to come to work, the loss would still be around Rs400 crore,’’ said Ravi Basavaraju, president, Peenya Industries Association.

According to Basavaraju, many industrialists were confident of transport minister R Ashoka finding a solution for the demands made by KSRTC and BMTC employees by Wednesday evening. “We could have declared Thursday a holiday and asked the employees to work on Sunday. But we thought the minister would convince the transport employees to resume duty,’’ he said.

Coming down heavily on the authorities for not making alternative transport arrangements for the benefit of workers and public, SN Eswar, director of Metrology Equipment Pvt Ltd, said that out of 174 employees only 68 turned up. “I have to incur a huge loss due to loss of manhours. Around 80% of products made by the company are meant for exports. The delay in supplying the products will have an adverse impact on the business,’’ Eswar said.

Terming the strike as unfortunate, Sampath Ram, vice-president, Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said textiles and garment industries were worst hit. “Loss of one working day will have an adverse impact on small industries,’’ Ram said.