The absence of workers in Plywood, Panel and Door industries is affecting the ply board production nationwide. According to reports from different regions, the net production in Plywood Industry alone has gone below 50 percent due to shortage of factory workforce and helpers. The Industries located in Yamuna Nagar and Punjab has been observing mass departure on its railway stations since last one months. The reports from Gandhidham and Kerala indicate the similar picture. The workers from Orissa and West Bengal have gone to their native places time before due to damage threats and fear from Cyclone Fani. The combined impact of crops, election and Cyclone Fani has led to bigger exodus this time compared to previous years. Their expected return could be also delayed if the cyclone will be strong enough to inflict asset damages. It is known that plywood and panel industry employ large number of workforce form two states Bengal and Odissa.
As per ground reports, plywood manufacturing units in Mangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Vishakhapatnam are more affected due to lower concentration of factories. A number of units from these areas are unable to rotate dispatches and orders due to men power shortage. The labour contactors are said to be resuming of workers partial returns from June onwards. The national elections have become a bigger pull for workers this year because it is like a celebration time for them apart from casting their votes says Manak Das, a labor contractor from Orissa.
On the other side, to minimize the labour counts, Plywood industries are adopting automation and modern machines with better layout to overcome the crisis since past 5 - 6 years yet plywood sector still need a huge manpower. It is expected that the workers will return to factories and the production will begin to smoothen only after June 3rd week. The present scenario has disturbed the dispatch routine in plywood and laminate factories.