Power loom strike in Coimbatore and Tirupur district

A round 200,000 power loom units, mainly the job working units, present on the borders of Coimbatore and Tirupur districts are on an indefinite strike since August 5, 2009, to protest against the reduction in the conversion charge of yarn by 10 per cent. The job workers convert yarn into fabric through contracts given by power loom cloth dealers.The conversion rate for a metre of fabric is Rs 12-20 depending on the quality. It was reduced by 5 to 10 per cent because of the decrease in overall demand after the slowdown. So, it is not commercially viable for us to give the orders at the previous rate. A power loom can produce around 50 metre of fabric at an average cost of Rs 15 per metre. The power loom units in the region churn fabric worth Rs 15 crore daily.