Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Pricol management ready for talks with workers

COIMBATORE: Pricol Limited, the Coimbatore-based automotive component manufacturer, is willing to engage in dialogue with its employees directly to find an amicable solution to the demands of a section of its workforce.

Executive Director of the company Vanitha Mohan and Director Vikram Mohan told presspersons here on Friday that the labour problem that started in 2007 had had an impact on the company’s performance. “The company used to see 15 to 20 per cent year-on-year growth. Ideally, we should have been a Rs. 800 crore company now. However, we have registered just Rs. 614 crore turnover in 2008-2009,” Ms. Mohan said.

(Kovai Mavatta Pricol Employees Trade Union (independent) and Kovai Mavatta Pricol Thozhilalar Thozhil Sangam, affiliated to AICCTU, were started in 2007. Workers had gone on strike for nearly three months in 2007 demanding recognition for the unions and withdrawal of transfer orders for six employees.

A group of workers were on fast here again from June 15 to 29, 2009 demanding that only permanent workers should be involved in direct production activities).

“The industry has been hit. The management will do everything to protect the organisation,” she said.

“Slowly, we are losing out on customer confidence. We want to find an amicable solution at the earliest,” Mr. Vikram Mohan said. Some of the customers had started looking at alternative suppliers. The company had 1,500 permanent workers and almost an equal number of temporary workers at its three plants here.

During the last two years, the company had moved 20 per cent of its critical production to manufacturing facilities in other places (Pune, Pantnagar and Manesar).

“If the problem continues, our customers will force us to move more production to other plants. And, it will be at an additional cost,” Ms. Mohan said.

Pricol had about 250 suppliers here who were manufacturing substantial volumes only for Pricol. They would also be hit if the production was shifted. Mr. Vikram Mohan added that capacity utilisation at the Coimbatore plants had come down to 30 to 33 per cent. Nearly 50 per cent of the production loss was due to the labour problem.

The company was ready for negotiations, though it would be only with the workers. “The management has adopted a stand in principle not to recognise the Maoist – Leninist outfit. The recent ban by the Centre on Maoist outfits justifies our stand as our own actions were based on upholding the peace and harmony of the society as a whole,” a release from the company said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

MBA counselling of BU on July 15
Big TV tie-up with Oxigen for easy recharge
For everything in construction
ADGP inspects Central Prison
Ganja seized from prisoner
Electoral data being centralised
Pricol management ready for talks with workers
Nitrogen tyre inflator facility
Heavy rain raises water level in Siruvani Dam
Two more held in army convoy attack case

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu