In the Tirupur knitwear cluster, the recent High Court order on minimum wages announced in October 2014 for the tailoring industry has evoked mixed reactions. According to Tirupur Exporters’ Association president A Sakthivel, the court order is not applicable to hosiery industry but only for the tailoring industry.

Substantiating Sakthivel’s views, industry sources say another order by Madras High Court on March 17 this year, based on a petition by a Dindigul textile unit that has a production base in Tirupur, the court had mentioned hosiery and tailoring industries were different. CITU state secretary M Chandran meanwhile, said the court order should be implemented in categories of employees where the minimum wages given were found lower than in the October 10, 2014, order.

For example, tailors in Tirupur cluster are getting higher wages in the tripartite wage agreement signed by textile associations, trade unions and labour department compared to the scales in the 2014 order. But the scales of helpers and sweepers in units are quoted higher in the 2014 order. In such cases, arrears should be given, said Chandran.

However, the GO on October 10, 2014, issued by Labour department, on ‘Revision of minimum rates of wages for employment in tailoring industry’; had given room for confusion even then as the government had constituted minimum wages committee for employment in hosiery industry.