45,000 workers lose jobs in F’bad units

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, December 9

Industrial units here have started laying off the excess employees, courtesy demonetisation.

In the past one month since Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were declared invalid, around 45,000 employees, mostly contractual, have reportedly lost their job in this industrial city. A large number of employees who received their salaries through cheque are still waiting to cash it due to delay in the opening of their bank accounts.

Admitting that manufacturing units had been hit with production and sales falling up to 35 per cent, Navdeep Chawla, president, Faridabad Industries Association (FIA), said a majority of the medium and large industries had resorted to cutting down the number of shifts. The units, which had three shifts earlier, were now running two shifts and had dropped the overtime clause due to drop in production or sales. He said while the organised sector saw no major threat to its operations or existence, the real victim had been the unorganised sector or the contractual workers.

At least 10 per cent of the total workforce between 4.5 -5 lakh had been retrenched, he claimed. Several units that had been working without bills and had only cash transactions were affected badly due to demonetisation, he claimed.

Describing the impact as severe, Rajiv Chawla, president, Integrated Association of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises of India (IAMSME), said employees of many units were yet to get their salaries in hand. “While many banks were not showing any interest in opening new accounts, some employees who had received their salary in cheque could not cash it so far,” he said, adding that even his own organisation, which was allowed a withdrawal of Rs 50,000 per week, had not been able to get money due to non-availability of cash in the bank. “More units could go for cutting down the headcount or shutting down if the situation does not improve soon,” said Ramneek Prabhakar of the Manufacturers Association, Faridabad.

Meanwhile, more than 50 per cent of the total 661 ATMs in the city either run dry quickly or are closed, resulting in long queues outside banks.