When Ajay, a native of Bihar, moved to Tirupur to work in a garment manufacturing unit six years back, he probably did not consider a permanent relocation.

“I just wanted to give it a shot. The initial years were not easy as I did not understand the local language. Over the years, a good number of people from my home town moved in to work at the garment manufacturing units here. Most of us are very much at home today as we stay in and around the same colony,” said this 35-year old, in Hindi.

While some have moved in with their family, quite a number have left wife and children behind.

A little further away from this Bihari settlement are a group of youngsters from Uttar Pradesh, who prefer not to converse with strangers.

Beyond idli-sambar

Most of these migrant workers move in groups. “They turn up in hundreds and leave the same way, only to return after 2-3 months. They leave for their native village during harvest season or, say, when there is a wedding in the family. The exodus is huge between December and February,” said Raja M Shanmugham, President, Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA).

Besides offering them jobs, some of the units have also set up a kitchen for such workers as they are not comfortable eating the typically South Indian sambar or idli .

Absorbing these migrants is given in a town like Tirupur, where the demand for labour is huge.

Industry sources acknowledge that workers from neighbouring districts and from places like Ramanathapuram and Tuticorin used to come and work in the garment units here till about seven years back. These natives of the State now prefer to work in districts closer to their village as the cost of living in Tirupur has soared.

The migrants from upcountry States such as Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkand, however, manage by spending just the required minimum.

Retention, the problem

“The issue that we face is not about providing a job, but retention. We imparted training to 15,000 unemployed youth and placed them in different units. Later, we found that they did not stay in one unit for more than six months They hop jobs when a neighbouring unit offers over-time or something extra,” said R Senthilkumar, Chairman, Public Relations Committee, TEA.

The workers are paid on a weekly basis and Monday absenteeism is high, say industry insiders. There are close to 8,000 garment manufacturing units employing around 6 lakh workers in Tirupur alone. Nearly 20 per cent of the workforce is from upcountry States.

The steep decline in garment exports has not been reflected in the demand for workers in Tirupur. “The garment sector has always faced labour paucity — both in good times and the paradox we are in at present,” said Senthilkumar.

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