Call to hike withdrawal limit of cashew units

Chairman of the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI) P. Sundaran has written to the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India requesting special permission for cashew factory owners to withdraw Rs.3 lakh per week from their bank accounts for the purpose of paying weekly wages to cashew workers.

In the wake of cash withdrawal restrictions imposed following November 8 demonetisation of higher denomination currency notes, the factory owners could not pay last week’s wages to the cashew workers, the majority of them women. The letter says that the workers are solely dependent on the wages for a living. Non-receipt of wages had badly affected the living condition of workers, which in turn has hit the operation of factories.

Each factory required at least Rs.3 lakh to pay the weekly wages. The request for relaxation on withdrawal limit for cashew factory owners was made on this ground, Mr. Sundaran said in a statement here. CEPCI chairman says cash withdrawal curbs make it difficult for factories to pay wages.

Source: Hindu business line.