Indian Rayon has threatened to sack its employees who are on strike since November 15 at its viscose filament yarn (VFY) unit at Veraval, Gujarat, unless they resume work within 48 hours, which expires tomorrow (Friday).
The company has in its notice to the employees made it clear that workers who fail to meet this deadline would be treated to have left the company voluntarily.
Confirming the development, Santrupt Misra, President (corporate HR) told Business Standard, "We would be considering fresh recruitment for the positions rendered vacant as a result of refusal to join work. However, terminal benefits would be extended to these employees."
The workers were given 20 per cent bonus last year against a commitment towards delivering certain quality and productivity standards. They had also signed an agreement according to which they would be accepting the statutory minimum bonus amount (8.33 per cent) in the following year if the company's allocable surplus was not adequate and would not make it an issue.
The union has been negotiating the bonus amount with the management for quite some time now. "Its not the matter of price, its a matter of trust, its a matter of signing a legal agreement and abiding by the laws of the land. We will not succumb to such unreasonable demands," Misra added.
The company has already referred the dispute to the Industrial Tribunal set up by the state government of Gujarat.
According to Misra such an action was inevitable as the company can not afford to keep its operations affected for such a long time.
The strike at the 15,000 tonne per annum VFY unit is costing the Aditya Birla group close to Rs 80-85 lakh per day. The unit contributed Rs 263 crore to the company's turnover of Rs 1,525 crore during the last year.
