Labour unrest leads to factory closures

BIRGUNJ, DEC 03 -

Three manufacturing companies including Triveni Spinning Mills (TSM), Nepal Boards and Pawanputra Plastic Factory in Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor have been shut for a long time. These factories, which are identified among the three largest manufacturers in the area, has been suffering from labour unrest and a shortage of raw materials.

Following a dispute among labourers and the management, TSM has been shut for the last 45 days. The closure of the mill which was employing around 1,200 people has made the company suffer a heavy financial loss, according to TSM.

However, the local administration has not shown any concern over the closure of the company which was exporting about 80 percent of its products to third countries. Ram Chandra Sanghai, proprietor of TSM, said that the loss could be higher as the company had been compelled to cancel orders from overseas countries. “Failing to dispatch the ordered units of the products on time has raised a question over the credibility of the company,” he said.

Earlier, the TSM management had been compelled to shut its production unit due to a dispute between the management and the workers that took place after the management suspended seven workers. These workers had been accused of being involved in physical violence on the factory premises. Birendra Sanghai, director of the company, said that the management took action against the workers in order to control mayhem in the

factory.

However, the workers have been demanding reinstatement of the fired workers without any conditions. Another official of the company, Prem Singh, said the workers became irritated after the police took the accused workers under custody. “It would have been better if those workers had been dealt with by the management itself,” said Singh.

Although there were many attempts to resume the factory’s operation, all went in vain, said Dinesh Rai, central member of the Independent Workers Union, a sister organisation of GEFONT. Talks were held on Tuesday between the workers and the management but they were inconclusive.

“Even though the management had agreed to reinstate the suspended workers, they started demanding wages for the days when the factory was closed,” said Proprietor Sanghai. According to him, the management is not in a position to pay the workers. “It would be inappropriate to pay them after the enactment of the ‘no work no pay’ condition.”

Meanwhile, Nepal Boards Limited has also been shut since Sept 29. The management of the company which is being promoted by the Golchha Group has decided to stop its production after it suffered continual losses due to a shortage of raw material and increasing costs.

The company’s financial state started to worsen after the Federation of All Nepal Trade Unions, affiliated to the Maoists, compelled the management to okay the permanent appointment of 130 workers three years ago, claims a company source. The increasing cost has weakened the competency, according to the company.

The work of the factory came to a complete halt after the workers demanded pay even for the days when the factory was closed. With the closure of the factory, a total of 300 workers have lost their jobs.

Similarly, Pawanputra Plastic Factory has also been shut. Pawan Lohia, proprietor of the company and an Indian citizen, has fled with the money obtained from an overdraft. Ram Surat Ray, a worker, said the factory was shut suddenly on July 17. With the closure of the factory, 115 workers have become unemployed.

Meanwhile, the production unit of Unique Pharmaceuticals, which had been closed for the last one month, has resumed operations since Monday. The company had been suffering from disputes between the labourers and the management.

Source: Kantipur