Date:21/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/21/stories/2008082152330300.htm

Kerala

Unions to appeal against closure of Vaigai Threads

Staff Reporter

BIFR orders closure of over 50-year-old industrial unit

Proposal for workers cooperative to run the company
Company had not raised wages for 20 years: workers

Koratti (Thrissur district): Workers trade unions of the Vaigai Thread Processors unit at Koratti have decided to go in appeal against Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction’s (BIFR) order to close down the company.

They would seek a stay on the closure order from the Appellate Authority for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (AAIFR) and ask for more time to find a taker for the sick unit.

On Tuesday, the BIFR ordered closure of the company, which has been in the red for the last four years. Once a complete production unit for threads, Vaigai Thread Processors is now doing only winding and finishing works of threads for Madurai Coats.

“We will also submit a proposal to form a workers’ cooperative society to run the company with the help of the State Government,” said A. N. Rajan, president of the Labour Union, an independent workers’ union at the company.

The Labour Union has decided to initiate legal proceedings against the closure, he said.

“For many years the management has been seeking permission for the closure. We will abide by the BIFR decision,” said the company’s Industrial Relations Manager T.A. Menon. “Had the workers agreed to the management’s appeal for increasing production, the shutdown could have been avoided,” he said.

Charge denied

The unions, however, refuted this. “The company has not revised workers’ salary and interim allowances for the last 20 years,” said P.J. Joy, president of Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) unit at Vaigai Thread Processors.

This was why the workers opposed an increase in production, he said.

“The unions will work across political boundaries to rescue the company because it is a matter of livelihood for about 300 workers,” said Paul Kokkat, president of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) unit.

Started in 1952 on Government land at Koratti, J&P Coats was a prestigious industrial unit with more than 2,200 workers.

The Company flourished even when it became Madurai Coats.

The downfall started when the company was locked out in 1993.

Later it was handed over to Vaigai Threads Processors.

The management wanted to disperse the existing workers after settling their wages. Workers opposed the move. In between, the Industrial Tribunal struck down Madurai Coats’ s handing over of the company to Vaigai Threads. Madurai Coats went to court against the Tribunal order and won the case. Labour disputes and litigation became a routine affair.

The company sought permission to close down production. Though the government intervened many times in an effort to revive the sinking unit, the management and unions could not reach an agreement.

With the BIFR order to close down Vaigai Threads on Tuesday, one more industrial unit in the State has shut down.