indVIJAYAWADA: Even as the State government gave certain exemptions to the industry sector to ensure that the production is not affected due to the Covid-induced partial curfew, the spread of the virus has had an adverse impact as the turnout of workers was not more than 50 per cent in April and May. However, there was a gradual increase in the workforce in June after the decline in Covid cases.
Though the State government allowed the movement of industry workers based on the identity card or letter issued by the employer during the curfew, many employees have stayed home as the number of cases were more, said D Ramakrishna, former chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (AP). He said that despite full cooperation from the government for the functioning of industries, the attendance was less in April and May as the number of cases were high and either the employees or their family members or neighbours have been infected with the virus.
However, following the drop in the number of Covid cases, the industry production increased from the beginning of June and the attendance now reached over 90 per cent, he informed. Most of the industries organised vaccination drives for their respective employees on their own as it is the only solution to the problem, he said and added that above 60 per cent of companies administered vaccines to employees with the authorisation of the government.
When contacted, Sri City SEZ Media and Public Relations Consultant C Ravindranath admitted that the attendance of employees was low when the number of Covid cases was high. However, he said that the production was not hindered to a great extent as the companies located in Sri City made optimum usage of the available workforce.
As Sri City is located near the Andhra-Tamil Nadu border, a sizable number of employees reside in Tamil Nadu and the interstate restrictions hindered their movement. The management of Sri City took up the issue with Tamil Nadu to ensure easy passage of the employees. There are 120 companies in Sri City with a workforce of more than 53,000.
In numbers
50% Attendance in industries in the State in April and May
90% Attendance at present
60% of industries administer vaccines to employees