Surat’s embroidery workers and unit owners remain locked in a dispute over working hours, paid weekly leave and salaries, with talks involving government officials failing to produce a settlement. Around 50 workers staged a dharna near Mini Bazaar in Varachha after three units in Kapoor Wadi dismissed workers who demanded eight-hour shifts and one paid weekly holiday without a reduction in their monthly pay.
The workers said they had been earning their salaries while working 12-hour shifts and were asked to leave when they sought shorter working hours and a paid weekly day off. One worker told the Times of India that employees were told to leave if they wanted a paid weekly holiday. The workers subsequently collected their salaries and resigned, with some scheduled to travel by train to their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh.
Some workers claimed they had worked at the same embroidery units for nearly a decade before being removed after raising the demand for what they described as rightful benefits. They also indicated that they might not return to Surat after the festive season, potentially affecting a labour force that supports the city’s embroidery production network.
Unit owners have rejected the workers’ account. An owner said that employees seeking an eight-hour shift and one weekly day off would have to accept lower salaries. According to the owners, if workers refused a reduction in pay, the units had no option but to ask them to leave.
The owners also alleged that outsiders were trying to provoke employees and circulate misleading information about labour codes. They claimed that some individuals were approaching workers during working hours and encouraging them to demand a paid weekly holiday. The workers’ side, however, maintains that the dispute concerns working conditions and pay rather than outside interference.
The disagreement has continued despite multiple rounds of discussions, meetings held in the presence of government officials and social media campaigns by both sides. The dispute illustrates the tension between long-established production practices in Surat’s labour-intensive embroidery sector and workers’ demands for shorter working hours and weekly leave without losing income.
For the workers, the immediate issue is whether reduced working hours can be implemented without reducing monthly salaries. For unit owners, the stated concern is that maintaining existing pay while cutting working hours is not acceptable. With both sides holding to their positions, the immediate outcome remains unresolved, while the workers’ planned departures to Uttar Pradesh mark the next reported development in the standoff.
