Textile workers follow diamond trail, gear up to ‘wage’ a battle for hike

Even as diamond factory workers continue to fight for a 20 per cent hike in their wages, the Surat District Textile Market Labour Union has urged the owners of textile factories and shops to hike their workers' wages in view of rising inflation.

After a meeting with the labourers in Inter-city hall at Puna Kumbhaira on Sunday, union president Gopal Shekhawat gave one-month time to the factory owners. If their demand is not met within the stipulated time, they threatened to launch agitation.

Besides the union chairman and other bearers, Salabatpura police inspector J A Jadeja and hundreds of textile labourers attended the meeting.

Shekhawat said they will intimate the factory and shop owners to hike wages of their workers. He said their wages have not been increased for the last 15 years.

Shekhawat said: "Day by day, the inflation is rising. It has become difficult for the common people to survive. The Surat textile industry has over five lakh workers working in different fields. As the wage is not fixed, we had to do something and we have taken an initiative."