more-inThe beedi rollers affiliated to the All India Trade Union Congress staged a demonstration in front of Tirunelveli Railway Junction on Saturday in protest against the 28% Goods and Service Tax imposed on beedi. The protestors said over 1 crore poor women, mostly school dropouts, were feeding their families with the paltry sum of ₹150 a day they could earn through beedi rolling every day. Consequently, the families of several lakh beedi rollers would be affected seriously, they said. When AITUC’s general secretary S. Kasi Viswanathan explained the threats being faced by the beedi rolling industry with the introduction of GST in a meeting held in New Delhi recently, the Centre’s representatives agreed to reduce the 28% tax slapped on the industry. President of AITUC and former MP K. Subbarayan, Mr. Kasi Viswanathan, general secretary, AITUC, T.M.

Source: The Hindu August 05, 2017 13:03 UTC