INTUC seeks govt intervention to address unemployment in Thoothukudi

THOOTHUKUDI: Employment crisis looms large in the district as several downstream industries have been hit following the closure of the Vedanta Group company Sterlite Copper power plant, said INTUC General Secretary P Kathirvel.

According to Kathirvel, the shutdown of the Sterlite Copper plant has led to the closure of thermal power plants, salt pans, textile mills and numerous small and large industries in the district leading to significant job losses.

"The closure of the Sterlite Copper plant alone directly displaced over 1,500 workers and disrupted the livelihoods of approximately 40,000 individuals who depended on it directly. Additionally, the halt in other industries has rendered nearly one million daily wage workers unemployed," he said in a statement on Saturday.

He pointed out that Thoothukudi DMK MP Kanimozhi has appealed to the central government to establish semiconductor manufacturing units as such facilities would create employment for 30,000 people and be a catalyst in economic recovery in the region.

Traditional spinning mills with a history spanning 125 years have struggled to modernise and adapt to contemporary technologies, Kathirvel, who is also the senior vice president at the Indian National Port and Dock Workers Federation, New Delhi, said.

The reopening of Sterlite Copper Plant would generate employment opportunities for approximately 3,000 truck drivers engaged in raw material transportation and over 4,000 daily wage workers per shift in material handling, he said.

Many truck owners were forced to sell their trucks for being unable to repay the loans following the closure of the plant, he added.