June 3: The Pasakha industrial area in Phuentsholing has been hit by a labour shortage.

The most affected are upcoming factories like Druk Ferro Alloys limited, Ugyen Ferro alloys limited, Druk Wang Alloys limited and Bhutan Ferro Industries Limited.

Established industries have not been touched by the labour shortage as most of their employees are nationals and even expatriate labourers are employed on regular basis.

Several upcoming factories in the Pasakha industrial area in Phuentsholing have been hit by a labour shortage. A majority of the labourers come from the neighbouring India state of West Bengal. They have all left for the Panchayat elections.

Company officials said there is a shortage of national labourers and it is difficult to obtain adequate expatriate laborers.

With the demand outstripping supply, factories like the Druk Ferro Alloys Limited are suffering. Officials from Druk Ferro Alloys Limited said they require about 150 workers but they have only around 120 labourers.

The situation is no better in the labour intensive mining industry. Druk Mining Limited has 40 labourers. Company requires officials said they require 250 workers to produce 230 tons of quartzite. At present, the company produces 30 tons a day.

The Regional office of the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources said they approve the number of labourers depending on the requirement survey conducted by the labour inspectors. But with demand for workers rising sharply, the situation looks bleak at the moment.