TRICHY: More than 1,000 small-scale power loom job working units in Tamil Nadu , employing around 50,000 workers, are set to go on strike from Tuesday for three days against the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST), which will come into effect from July 1.The workers had staged a token strike on June 15. The losses due to the strike then were estimated to be over Rs 10 crore, according to industry sources.While the 18th and final meeting of the GST Council is expected on June 30 before GST is rolled out on July 1, the strike is being held to put pressure on the government to exempt power loom fabric other than in the mill sector from GST.Power looms (shuttle work) provide employment to unskilled and semi-skilled workforce which is only next to agriculture, said workers.President of Karur factory owners association R Dhanapathi said, "The Tamil Nadu hand loom federation has announced that eight lakh small-scale power looms job working units will be shut till Thursday starting from Tuesday." Power looms in Salem, Namakkal, Erode, Tiruppur, Theni, Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar will also be shut, he added.Farmers are engaged in power loom weaving apart from their farming activity on part-time basis. GST is fixed at 5 per cent on the job work as service tax on these small scale power loom units. "Though it is only applicable for only those with a turnover of Rs 20 lakh, the tax burden is now being shifted to weaving and knitting factories which get the job done from them," said Dhanapathi."At the time when fabric produced out of power looms constitute 75% of the fabric needs of the country, it should be exempted from GST as it was exempted from VAT in 2007," added Dhanapathi.

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