Britannia, pensioners end long-standing dispute

The pensioners had been fighting the biscuit major since March 2003 for their dues

Former employees of Britannia Industries and the company have settled an over decade-long dispute pertaining to pension, paving the way for release of dues estimated to be in the region of Rs 40 crore. The pensioners, who were nearly 300 in number originally, had been fighting the biscuit major since March 2003 for their dues. 50 have died since.

These pensioners had formed a group called the BIL Pensioners Welfare Association, headed by Ashit Sarkar, a former senior vice-president (HR) at Britannia. While the settlement was arrived at earlier, payments were delayed due to a pending matter in the Calcutta High