The main c-0ntentions of the Association were tha:t the total pay packet of the workmen in Rayon and Artificial Silk industry in lhe local area of Greater Bombay was Rs. 190.12 per month of 26 working days, that deatl'J'ess allowance to the extent oi 80 per cent n1:utral.ization was automatically responsive to the rise in the cost of living and, therefore, there was no real fall in the pay packet consequent on the rise in the cost of living, that the workmen had received an ad hoc increase of Rs. 5.20 per month of 26 working days from February 1, 1962, and that this has been. further raised to Rs: 6.50 from February 1, 1964, that the base for neutralization which was Rs. 30/- should not and ought not to be changed to Rs. 36.50 as demanded by the Sabha, that the demand was beyond the capacity of most a{ the 55 lllllit.s concerned, that the dearness allowance paid in the other industries in the region canno1 furnish any relevant criterion as the financial position of these units was quite different, that over the years, the position of the. industry has steadily deteriorated, that on account of the paucity of foreign exchange, restrictions on import of the required machinery, the non-availability of the necessary types of raw materials, the high cost of yarn, the heavy excise duty on indigenous yam, the industry has been declinilllg, that the import oi. nylon yarn was canalised through the State Tradin11 Corporation of India and it kept for it.self a very high pr,ofit margm, that the price of raw materials in the industry has gone up, that prior to March, 1970, the excise duty on pJOcessed yarn and artificial silk fabric varied. from 9 paise to 30 paise per square metre whereas from March, 1970, onwards, there was· a steep rise in the excise duty per square metre . and therefore the industry cannot bear any further burden and. that in any event, the demand for 100 per cent neutralization is unwarranted.
