The strike by workers of the units in Brandix apparel park in Visakhapatnam district continued on Tuesday and a reconciliation meeting has been convened by the Development Commissioner of the Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone (VSEZ) on Thursday.

The delivery schedules of the apparel park, the single largest underwear production facility in India for exports to the US and the Europe, may be affected as the workers, mostly women, announcing their resolve to continue with it till the revision of wages. They are demanding a minimum salary of ₹10,000 a month.

The permanent workers are at present being paid average monthly salary of ₹5,000. The workers do not have a union as BIAC has been developed by Brandix Lanka as a special economic zone in an area of 1,000 acre at Atchyuthapuram. The workers have rejected appeals by the State government to give time to consider their demands.

The government is finding it difficult to hold negotiations with them, as there is no trade union in BIAC, it being a SEZ.

The apparel park has an annual turnover of around ₹1,500 crore. It has attracted investors like Quantum Clothing, Ocean India, Seeds Intimate Apparels, Pioneer Elastics, Vardhman and Ribest Ribbons and Bows.

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