Wopolin shuts unit

Wopolin Plastics, formerly Bajaj Plastics, one of the largest plastic woven sacks units, announced a lockout on Saturday citing heavy losses, low productivity and restricted liquidity. The move has left its workforce of around 600 in a lurch. The company was established at the MIDC Hingna industrial estate in 1972.

The workers were turned back from the factory gate on Saturday and a lockout notice was stuck on the entrance. Anguished over the move, workers gave vent to their ire by shouting slogans against the management.

Terming the lockout as unfair, they moved the court against the management. The workers claimed that they haven't been paid salaries for the past two months.

The management had informed the workers' union about its plans on January 12 and the union received a formal letter two days later, said P G Lonare, representative of the Nagpur Plastic Kamgar Sangh.

"We haven't received wages for the past two months and now the factory has been shut down without a word about how the dues would be cleared," he said.

The workers had been asked to resign, he alleged, adding that the union had demanded that a voluntary retirement scheme be introduced.

"Strangely, the management wants us to resign stating that we are doing so on our own accord due to financial problems," said N K Lokhande, an affected worker.

Sources in the management said that work had come to a standstill two-three months ago. However, workers continued to report for work.

Wopolin Plastics recorded a turnover of Rs 8,277.56 lakh for the year ended March 31, 2005, with cash loss of Rs 149.51 lakh. It registered further cash loss of Rs 486 lakh during the period April-December 2005.

In a press release, its executive director V K Bajaj said that Wopolin Plastics had become a sick company in 1999 after it incurred losses following illegal strikes by workers in 1997-98 and 1998-99.

The failure of its foundry division also added to its woes. It lost customers in the strike period and losses eroded its net worth. It was subsequently registered as a sick company with the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) in 1999.

The plastics division of the company was still kept operational but this division too started making "continuous losses due to very low productivity and heavy wastage," said the management in its press release. It has also blamed banks and financial institutions for delaying a rehabilitation package.

The management said that with the banks seizing stocks aggravated the problem further.

It has said that piling losses, increased wastage and lack of necessary financial assistance from banks and financing institutions resulted in the company having no liquid funds at its disposal. Power supply to the unit was snapped on January 24, due to non-payment of electricity bill.

The management has claimed that it tried to run the unit to the best of its ability but was unable to do so due to lack of cooperation from workers and low productivity. "This also caused losses due to heavy export claims," it said.

Further, the chief executive officer and other vital staff also left the company recently, the management has said.