KOLKATA: After a long gap, the gates of the Dunlop factory at Sahagunj, West Bengal, and Ambattur in Tamil Nadu are likely to be re-opened in April, if all goes according to plan. "Maintenance work will start probably by early-April at both the units," an official spokesman of the Ruia group, which now controls Dunlop India Ltd. (DIL), said.

The labour agreements under negotiation since Pawan Ruia took over the reins in December last are also in the final stages and the agreement for the Ambattur unit is set to be signed within this week. This was confirmed to The Hindu by A. Krishnaswamy, President of the Dunlop Factory Employees Union at Ambattur.

Giving the broad contours of the agreement likely to be signed, he said the employees would start with a pay, which is 20 per cent lower than what they were getting in 2002 when the unit was shut down, with an annual increment of Rs. 100. Backwages have been fixed at Rs. 10,000 for the 1,200 people now on the rolls. Even as trimming of the workforce is being discussed, a tentative figure of 300 has been arrived at and ERS (early retirement scheme) payments are likely to be in the region of Rs. 75,000 to Rs. 1.20 lakh. Mr. Krishnaswamy, who is a Lok Sabha member, said that as per schedule, maintenance work would start before Tamil New Year's day, with plant reopening scheduled four months later.

The Secretary of the union, Ambattur unit, which is the only elected union, told The Hindu that the agreement was to be signed in the presence of the Tamil Nadu Labour Commissioner.

As for the agreement at the mother unit at Sahagunj, the CITU leader, Santasri Chatterjee, a CPI (M) MP, said it had been decided that about 1,400 people out of a total workforce of 2,500 would be retained to start with.

Negotiations regarding the manning pattern at the individual departments and productivity have progressed through continuous dialogues since January-end, when a MoU was signed with the management on the broad parameters of the agreement. It was decided that while workers would get Rs. 5,000 as initial salary, they would get Rs. 30,000 towards arrears accumulated since the closure in 2000.

Mr. Ruia has sought from the West Bengal Government the status of a relief undertaking for DIL, according to the company spokesman.

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