“Yes we are aware of the market conditions but we have some regular customers due to which,
even under any circumstances in the market, we have regular business. We are lucky to
have loyal customers in this slow and tough market. We support our labourers by providing ESI
(Employee’s State Insurance) policy to the labourers under which some basic facilities like
medical, sickness, maternity and disablement benefit, etc. are given to them by the Govt. to help
them sustain themselves on such tough days. We have labourers who have been working with us
since a very long time and are happy with the assurance they get from our side. ”
Radhika Gupta, 5-Elements, Noida
The market has been taking a toll on us. Since the last two years, it has been really tough going
to sustain ourselves in this economy and we are still struggling. We hope the situation will
improve soon. However, we haven’t felt the need to cut down any workforce and there has been
no issue with labour so far. Workers may come up to the authorities personally with any issue
anytime and that makes the path of the labourer-owner relationship smoother. We provide PF,
Bonus, etc. with regular salary, so that they do not have to face any significant troubles.”
Jacob, Tulsi, Delhi
Since the start of the company in 2004, we are working with the same set of labourers and have
increased some also. We provide travel expenses and residence expenses as well as hand out
regular incentives to our labourers. We have made a tradition in our organisation to celebrate
with all employees whenever a consignment is released to make them feel as part of a family. We
make our clients meet all our employees as well, so that the client-employee P2P bond gets
stronger. The economy is surely hampering business as the prices of raw materials are going up
day by day but the selling price is not increasing because of the competitive market. So the day to
day production suffers but we are dealing with it and surviving.”
Vijay Krishen Goel, V. Krishna Garments, Delhi
To deal with the current economy, we are focussing on those customers who are more reliable
in terms of their financial condition and loyalty and not targeting the larger market even if we
have to reduce our margin level. Hopefully, the condition will settle down with time. We didn’t
cut down the workforce but have replaced labourers in terms of their efficiency. As the production is slow and less, the labourers are not getting enough overtime as before and hence they are
getting less payment but we try to recover that void by giving them financial assistance like
lending them loans for their needs, etc. The employees also understand the market and they know
the economic situation, so there hasn’t been any unrest from their end.”
Taruna Verma, Taruna Impex, Delhi
“We try to keep going by participating in exhibitions, both in the state and outside Delhi, to
attract and acquire more buyers. The business is struggling but our labourers have been
with us since 20-30 years and we share a strong bond of trust with them, so there has never been
any issue of unrest.”
Uday Agarwal, Tal, Delhi
“We are suffering due to the market conditions, but we haven’t cut down any workforce yet.
All out craftsmen are working with us since 15 to 20 years and have a very cordial
relationship with us. We do not provide any insurance or something of that sort but the long term
good relationship with the labourers has proven to be enough to avoid any unrest.”
