Kanchi silk weavers protest over Handloom dept’s move to pay wages via bank account
The weavers’ cooperatives are registered through the societies that are not a government department. Moreover, all the cooperatives have their bylaws which state that wages should be paid in cash. Hence the circular is invalid,” E Muthukumar, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Handlooms Federation of CITU said.
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CHENNAI: Around 500 silk weavers in Kancheepuram on Tuesday held a protest against the recent handloom department’s order to deposit their wages in their bank accounts instead of paying in cash.
“All these years, weavers were like daily wage labourers and were paid wages in cash after they finished each sari. Now the Handloom department has issued a circular to pay wages through a bank account. The weavers’ cooperatives are registered through the societies that are not a government department. Moreover, all the cooperatives have their bylaws which state that wages should be paid in cash. Hence the circular is invalid,” E Muthukumar, general secretary, Tamil Nadu Handlooms Federation of CITU said.
He added that from each bundle or paavu of silk, weavers can make 3 sarees. So, the wage is split into 3 and paid once a week or in 10 days. “Since an entire family is involved in weaving, one person would be authorised to receive wages for all. Also, if wages are deposited in the bank, it’s time-consuming to visit the bank and withdraw the hard-earned money,” he said.
It takes 10-15 days to weave a silk sari depending on the size and design. Weavers get paid Rs 10,000. In the case of a cloth sari, their wages are Rs 1,000-Rs 1,500. “Protests were held across the State including Paramakudi, Coimbatore, Salem and Madurai. There are 1,200 registered cooperative societies with 1.5 lakh registered members in TN,” he said.
