The Hindu Business Line : Jay Shree Tea declares lockout at two estates

THE management of Jay Shree Tea & Industries Ltd, a B.K. Birla group company, has declared a lockout at its Singbuli and Tingling tea estates in Darjeeling.

According to Mr R.K. Ganeriwala, President of Jay Shree Tea, the company was forced to take action because of labour unrest and disobedience among the 900-strong workforce in these two gardens.

It may be noted that these two gardens are owned by city-based Mr M.K. Bajoria.

Since the gardens were registering huge losses, Jay Shree took over management control in October 2003 and decided to acquire it only if it succeeds in turning it around. In the last six months of 2003-04, it succeeded in reducing the losses of these two gardens, which have a total capacity of 2 lakh kg of tea a year, to around Rs 36 lakh.

Though March 31, 2004, was fixed as the last date for taking a decision on the proposed acquisition, till date no decision has been taken on this matter.

As the gardens were financially not well off, the health of the tea bushes also suffered over the years. The Birla management has been trying to revamp the gardens and restore normal operations.

It had also entered into an agreement with the workers' union. It started making current payments towards wages and statutory dues on a regular basis. It was further decided that the workers' dues would be cleared in a phased manner.

"Despite such positive developments, we found the workers ignoring the rules and regulations of the company and have also resorted to various malpractices," Mr Ganeriwala told Business Line.

The situation further worsened when the workers heckled a medical officer and manhandled some managerial staff. Apprehending further problems, the company has declared a lockout in these two gardens.

"This development will seriously jeopardise the situation in these two gardens and aggravate the problems at Singbuli," Mr Ganeriwala said.

According to him, Jay Shree Tea has already invested around Rs 2.5 crore in these two gardens. However, the bulk of this money was spent on clearing the workers' dues.

For the year ended March 31, 2004, Jay Shree Tea's net sales increased to Rs 178.06 crore from Rs 162.43 crore. The net profit, however, dropped to Rs 3.18 crore from Rs 8 crore in the previous year. A dividend of 17.5 per cent had also been announced.

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