According to South India Textile Research Association (Sitra) studies, spinning mills have realised the need to cut labour cost drastically to maintain a healthier bottomline. ``In order to operate profitably under the present high conversion cost structure characterised by high cotton and power costs, the only course open to mills is to maintain salaries and wages component at less than 10 per cent of sales. This would mean attaining a spinning HOK of 20 or less for the prevailing wages,'' the study has pointed out.

A productivity survey carried out by thereasearch body has brought to light ongoing efforts in the spinning industry to attain higher productivity levels. The industry, after four years of declining productivity rates reversed the trend registering an increase of five per cent during the last two years.

For the first time in Sitra productivity surveys, an all time high spinning HOK (operating hours to produce 100 kg of yarn) of 11 has been achieved by a mill with built-in doffers for ring frames. Six other mills without built-in doffers too achieved remarkably good productivity levels of around 12 to 14.

The same survey has pointed out that the prosperous export oriented spinning mills maintain wages cost of 3.50 per cent of sales, an average spinning HOK of 20 and a high level of production per spindle and spindle utilisation.

``High input costs coupled with low sale value leave practically no contribution in low profit making mills. The poor performance of these mills is due to low commercial efficiency, production of less value added yarnand below average productivity levels at an average HOK of 34, production per spindle of 81 g and spindle utilisation of 84 per cent,'' Sitra Director Indra Doraiswamy claimed.

Sitra has been sending the alarm signals on low productivity for the last one year. The average HOK, according to the survey of 203 mills, is 29.2 adjusted to 40s and these varied between a low of 11 to a high of 62. A little over 20 per cent of the mills achieve total HOK norm of 21.50.

The most significant finding of the survey is that in the case of mills which were covered during the 1996 survey and the present survey too there has been a 2.30 per cent per annum improvement in labour productivity. Sima Chairman M Ramaswami had earlier claimed that the association would take all steps to combat low productivity and high labour cost in the textile spinning industry. The associaton of spinners would initiate steps to market and promote the culture of high productivity in mills. Sima is strengthening it's industrial engineeringdepartment right away.

Labour cost in some of the spinning mills in Tamil Nadu, especially those in the Coimbatore region, has been hovering around a high of 14 to 18 per cent. Some units have already implemented massive VRS plans and some others have closed shop to force a ``militant labour'' negotiate higher productivity levels.

There is also a growing tendency among the mills to employ women workers. Mills in Tamil Nadu lead in employing women workers (13 per cent), followed by Andhra Pradesh (11.40 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (10.60 per cent), Kerala (10.10 per cent) and Karnataka (8.20 per cent). According to Sitra, ``increasing management awareness of the aptitude of women workers, shortage of male workers, better discipline and attendance, passive union activity and easy supervision are the strengths of women.''.