With the Government yet to clear any fresh relief measures for exporters hit by the rising rupee and reports of massive job cuts and shut-down of units continuing to pour in, the Department of Commerce (DOC) has sought the help of the Ministry of Labour and Employment to examine the ground situation on job losses, especially in the textile sector which employs 25 million workers.

While Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday promised some relief for textile exporters hit by the appreciating rupee, the Department of Commerce has already submitted one set of relief measures for the consideration of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

A recent survey of 58 companies across sectors by the Commerce ministry had revealed that over 10,000 jobs had been slashed in the first six months of the current financial year. Recently, commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warning of severe job losses “if no action is taken”.

In a missive to Union labour secretary Sudha Pillai, the Commerce Ministry has indicated that it is expecting as many as 200,000 job cuts by the end of December 2007. The Labour ministry has been requested by the DoC to examine its job loss estimates and get them appraised by officials in the field.

The rising rupee is not the only reason for the massive job cuts — the Commerce Department has also cited other reasons such as high interest rates and states not reimbursing exporters’ taxes in a timely manner.

... contd.