The Hindu Business Line : Lockout at Perambra unit of Apollo Tyres lifted

Kochi, Sept. 4 The lockout at the Perambra plant of Apollo Tyres in Kerala’s Thrissur district has been lifted and employees have resumed work from the morning shift on Wednesday. The state government has played a key supportive role in resolving the dead-lock, official sources said.

The main issues have been resolved, they said. The unions have agreed to increase the master batch weight and curing cycle by discussing and implementing the changes within this month. On the issue of continuous production between shifts, the Labour Commission will undertake a study and submit a report by November 30, which is then expected to be implemented in December this year, they said.

Commenting on the resolution of the lockout, Mr Satish Sharma, Chief, India Operations of ATL, said, “We are thankful to the Government and all others concerned. They played a very supportive role and helped us in resolving the issue. We look forward to working with Unions to ensure further investments take place at our Perambra Plant.”

Avoiding shortfall

Meanwhile, during the lockout period, by maximising on productivity in other plants, Apollo Tyres had ensured that there was no shortfall in supplies of cross ply tyres in the market, they said. The Perambra plant provides employment to 2,500 regular workers and around 1,500 contract workers.

The lockout resulted in a production loss of Rs 5 crore a day for the company while the State Government was deprived of Rs 70 lakh in excise duty. The problem emanated when the capacity of the plant was increased from 280 to 318 tonnes a day at a cost of Rs 15 crore.

The workers refused to bridge the idle time from shift-to-shift and maintain running of the machinery, they said, leading to losses.

“In order to cut down costs and maintain quality, the factory also undertook changes in the product mix, which was also resisted by the workers. As a consequence, some export schedules as well as production for the domestic market were thrown out of gear. When the workers went into agitation, the company was forced to declare the lockout at the factory from August 15,” the management sources added.

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