Sickness in textile industry: causes and remedies

Abstract

Textiles is the oldest industry in the country and employs directly and indirectly a large number of people, is linked to a major agricultural crop, earns nearly 25% of export earning and caters to one of the basic needs of the population. The human cost of sickness in this industry therefore is considerable. Four points are worth noting about the nature of sickness in this industry:(i)It is neither temporary or isolated (ii)It is largely afflicting the organised sector(iii)Within the organised sector, the composite mills are suffring more (iv)It is more pervasive in "older textile centres" like Ahmedabad and BombaySickness in any industry can be caused by an amalgam of factors. This is true of textiles also. This could be: (i)environmental - macro level policy, aggregate demand problems, etc;(ii)industry specific - technology or product related or regional problems;or(iii)unit specific - management, financial ro industrial relations problem.