Indian handicraft exporters are facing  dearth in labour force, at a time when they are getting fresh orders due to increase in the demands for Indian-produced handicrafts in the Western markets, particularly due to the coming Christmas.

According to Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), Chairman, Raj Kumar Malhotra, with orders in hand and more in the pipeline, handicrafts exporters in the country are faced with acute shortage of workforce.

Majority of the handicraft centres such as Aligarh, Panipat, Moradabad and Jodhpur, are currently demanding, skilled artisans. Malhotra averred that, government should alter the labour laws and permit the labourers to work overtime.

According to the current laws, an employer cannot force or ask the labourer to work for extra hours, even if the employer wants to and he/she is given due compensation, over 50 hours in a period of three months, told Malhotra to a news agency.

The EPCH Chairman, who is also a member of the Board of Trade in the Commerce Ministry, informed that, the government wants the handicraft industry to surge the head count. But with increase in head count will demand better, improved infrastructure as well, for which regular incoming business is required. Export of handicrafts is a seasonal business and order books get filled accordingly.

Even if the government does not permit the 'hire and fire' right to industry owners, they should at least be granted terms that can help change the work timings from 8 to 10 hours per day.

Bulk orders have been received for Christmas, from the US and European markets, which need to be delivered months before the onset of festival season. With the recovery of Indian handicrafts demands, better orders have been received and dispatch of these goods will take place by July, informed Malhotra.

With huge stores’ reducing number in inventory levels, EPCH expects a surge of 15-20 percent in the handicraft exports during the current year. During 2009-10, India’s exports of handicrafts totalled to $1.83 billion, recording a slight rise of 1.80 percent over the previous year.

India comprises of a rich array of hand-made artefacts, which are exported globally, such as, art-metal wares, hand-printed textiles and scarves, embroidered and crochered products and the like.

The handicraft sector, which provides jobs to over seven million artisans, came under pressure during world economic downturn during second half of 2008-09 fiscal. After 11 months of contraction since October 2008, exports turned positive in September 2009, registering a growth of over 160 percent compared to September 2008. 

In April 2010, handicrafts exports grew by 16 per cent to USD 179 million compared to the same period in the previous fiscal, on growing demand from the US market.