This story is from May 13, 2021

SEZ down to 10% of workforce

The workforce at Noida Special Economic Zone (NSEZ) has shrunk to 5,000 from the original strength of 50,000. The city’s entrepreneurs claim that most migrant workers have left for their villages even when factories are not shut down officially. A disrupted supply chain combined with a low workforce has led to a disruption in the production cycle at the MSMEs.
SEZ down to 10% of workforce
NOIDA: The workforce at Noida Special Economic Zone (NSEZ) has shrunk to 5,000 from the original strength of 50,000. The city’s entrepreneurs claim that most migrant workers have left for their villages even when factories are not shut down officially. A disrupted supply chain combined with a low workforce has led to a disruption in the production cycle at the MSMEs.
Ajay Goel, president of Noida Special Economic Zone Welfare Association (NSEZWA), told TOI that even though factories have been allowed to operate amid the second wave of Covid-19, many migrant labourers have left for their home towns.

“The headcount in factories has been on a steady decline over the past few weeks. This week, we just have around 5,000 people reporting to work — and even though they are coming to the factories, the workflow itself has been affected because the supply chain of raw materials stands disrupted. Most MSME owners don’t have enough raw materials to keep the production in progress,” he said.
Of the 240 factories that comprise the Noida SEZ, some 180 are currently operational. The remaining 60 units at NSEZ are habitually shut as they don’t operate. The functional SEZ factories have some 40,000 workers on their payroll, while nearly 10,000 IT professionals have been pitching in with work from home since a nationwide lockdown was announced last year.
Of course, the NSEZ does not reflect what’s going on in other MSMEs. “Our staff count in factories may be down by 50% at this time, but the situation is different for different industries. The government has to now come forward and help the workers get vaccinated,” said Manjula Mishra, president of Laghu Udyog Bharti (LUB), Gautam Budh Nagar.
The Noida SEZ members have also urged the state government to prepare for future Covid contingencies. “We are highly underprepared for a calamity of this scale. We have proposed to the state government that all community centres and any other available facilities should now be converted into makeshift Covid care centres,” Goel said.

“We also want the government to urge companies which make heavy use of oxygen to build their own oxygen manufacturing plants. This would help meet any future demand for the life-saving gas locally as except INOX, there are no major producers of oxygen in Gautam Budh Nagar,” he added.
The Indian Industries Association (IIA) has also urged the government to speed up vaccination for the workers in the district. “Vaccination should be made available for all the workers at the earliest,” said Rajiv Bansal, national secretary at IIA.
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