- Raw material smuggling to be halted
- National handloom schools to be set up
Pannala, 19 September 2020; State Minister for Batik, Handloom, and Local Apparel Products Dayasiri Jayasekara speaks to the instructors at the Janasalu Centre during an inspection visit.[/caption]
With imports curtailed, the apparel industry is currently facing a shortage in raw materials, for which State Minister for Batik, Handloom, and Local Apparel Products Dayasiri Jayasekara is planning to hold discussions to import the essential raw materials and is looking to distribute it through Lanka Salusala and the co-operative services.
Jayasekara noted that a price point too will be introduced, so that there is no pricing disparity from apparel that is purchased in Batticaloa to apparel that is purchased in another city. “The Batticaloa weaver is able to sell materials at a lower cost since the raw materials get smuggled through fishing boats, and is therefore made available to them at a low cost, as the raw material has no cess imposed.”
The State Minister reiterated that in the future, such attempts will be monitored and action will be taken through the Consumer Affairs Authority and Sri Lanka Customs, so that no weaver is afforded an unfair advantage over the obtaining of raw materials for cheap prices.
In an attempt to revive the now shutdown local apparel weaving factories scattered in the North Western, Central, Southern, and Eastern Provinces, the State Minister will be meeting up with the Management Services Department of each local government authority to sort out the issues that are faced by local government employees. “We’ve been told that there are issues with their carrier progressions and salary anomalies,” Jayasekara said.
Existing handloom factories are to be refurbished under the first phase and the establishments are to be rebranded as the National Handloom Schools, while selected employees would be trained and appointed to the position of entrepreneur development trainer to oversee the functions of the school.
“As per Handloom Department records in 2019, at least 190 persons had been trained by the Department. However, not even 90 have returned and contributed to the betterment of the local apparel industry,” Jayasekara explained, adding that the persons who attended the training received a daily attendance fee of Rs. 400 for a period of 20 days. The issue is that many who receive the training lacked expertise in weaving handloom at the same speed a well-seasoned elder could. As such, they had a tendency to abandon the work that was assigned to them and never return to the factory.
“Therefore, I think the monies given to them during the training period become a waste. As such, anyone who will be working at the handloom workshop or even the National Handloom School, will be allocated a minimum wage or salary so that they would continue to work,” Jayasekara noted.
They are to be later encouraged to earn extra according to their skill level and the amount of handloom cloth they are able to weave.
Jayasekara said that at present, various stages of the weaving process are completed at different centres. Therefore, this process will be brought under one roof to expedite the weaving.
The next biggest challenge is acquiring the latest machinery that is required to weave the latest designs. While the suggestion to mechanise the process was welcomed, Jayasekara opined that it would no longer be handloom, but would rather be called “power loom”.
The State Minister said his first focus is to improve handloom skills, from the very basics of threading, moving on to mechanising the weaving process in time to come.