Gujarat: Workers desert ceramics units for bank queues in Morbi

Reshma Meghani, 20, who works in the packaging department at Sonex Industries in Lakhdhirpur, waited outside a Central Bank of India branch with her three-year-old son Samir, husband Pappu and mother-in-law Amina. This day they would only collect bank tokens, with which she would return the following day to exchange Rs 4,500 each.

Pappu, who supplies tiffin to truck drivers, got Rs 4,000 exchanged two days ago, Reshma said. “We spent all of it on rations. We want to exchange all our savings as we never know when the factory will shut down,” Reshma said.

Reshma, who earns Rs 6,000 a month, claimed she would lose Rs 200 from the day’s wages because she had taken the
day off. Such claims, however, failed to convince a retired army man now working as bank guard. “They all are all here to help their employers exchange notes,” he said aloud, drawing several smiles from the queue.

A clerk at the post office in Para Bazaar agreed: “Factory owners are getting workers to exchange notes. They drop them here before daybreak every day.” He hoped the indelible ink would help check this to an extent.

In Sama Kantha, the large commercial complexes had none of the usual buzz of traders, truck drivers and labourers. Morbi and Wankaner talukas have around 600 ceramic factories. Nilesh Jetpariya, president of president of Morbi-Dhuva Glaze Tiles Association, said 15 per cent of these have either shut down or extended their scheduled closures.

The ceramic industry in Morbi produces 1,600 million square metres of tile every year, of which 30 per cent is exported, mainly to the Middle East. “Around 40 per cent of operations depend on hard currency, which may not always be accounted for,” estimated the manager of a unit in Lakhdhirpur.

“I ordered shutdown of my factory the morning after the PM announced withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. Ceramic tiles are not an essential commodity, people will buy two kilos ration first. Stocking of tiles is not advisable either as designs can go out of fashion,” said Velji Patel, owner of Boss Ceramics and a former president of MDGTA.

Bharat Patel, a partner in Shubham Ceramic, claimed his workforce of 90 is still reporting to work and none of them
has gone to the bank. But he can’t pay truck drivers. “I need Rs1 lakh daily, mostly to pay labourers truck drivers
— six to seven of them at Rs15,000 to Rs20,000 each — but the bank gives me only Rs 24,000 a day and supply of raw materials has died down.” he said. “I have stock for some 10 days but if the situation doesn’t improve we will shut down.”

Jetpariya, the MDGTA head, is optimistic that the temporary shutdown will be followed by a boom. “All the money will come into the banking system. For banks, the safest advance will be home loans. And if the real estate industry rises again, that will mean a boom for the ceramic tiles industry,” he said.