The Surat embroidery dispute has intensified after around 50 workers staged a protest near Mini Bazaar in Varachha, following the dismissal of employees from three units in Kapoor Wadi. The workers are demanding an eight-hour shift and one paid weekly holiday without a reduction in their monthly salaries.
The workers said they had been earning their existing salaries while working 12-hour shifts. They alleged that employees were asked to leave after seeking shorter working hours and a paid weekly day off. Some workers claimed they had worked at the same embroidery units for nearly a decade before being removed.
“We were told to leave if we wanted a paid weekly holiday. We then collected our salaries and quit,” one worker was quoted as saying by the Times of India. The workers said those who had left their jobs were scheduled to travel by train to their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh.
The dispute has immediate implications for a workforce that links Surat’s industrial activity with migrant households in Uttar Pradesh. Some workers have indicated that they may not return to Surat after the festive season if the current conditions continue, according to the report.
Unit owners have rejected the workers’ version of events. They alleged that outsiders were attempting to provoke employees and spread misleading information about labour codes. One owner said that salaries would have to be reduced if workers moved to an eight-hour shift and received one weekly day off.
“If workers want an eight-hour shift and one day off a week, their salaries will have to be reduced. If they are unwilling to accept a salary reduction, we have no option but to ask them to leave,” the owner was quoted as saying.
The owners also alleged that individuals were approaching workers during their shifts and urging them to demand a paid weekly holiday. They maintained that some employees were continuing to work under the existing terms and conditions without raising objections.
The disagreement has continued despite multiple rounds of talks, meetings held in the presence of government officials and social media campaigns by both sides. The workers and unit owners have so far maintained their opposing positions, leaving an immediate settlement unresolved.
The next stage of the dispute will depend on whether further discussions involving government officials can bridge the disagreement over working hours, weekly leave and the relationship between those conditions and monthly pay.
