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Twenty-eight-year old Arun was a technician working at the Nokia Chennai factory, taking care of issues related to mobile handsets. After nearly eight years, what he terms as glory days, he was forced to resign. Today his future looks uncerain and he doesn't know what to do.
While ruling out question of saving or investing the benefits they would get, workers said, "most of the money would go towards repaying our debts or for marriage expenses."
Could they turn as entreprenuers or find a new job? Again it is ruled out since they don't have capital and other factories are turning them away, since they formed a Union and questioned the management.
These were the workers at Nokia, the compnay once a leading mobile manufacturer in Sriperumbudur, celebrated as the most productive and competitive, even occasionally compared to China.
The factory has seen suspension its operations from November 1, 2014. Today the 8,000 workers, employeed directly in the factory, are feeling abandoned by the company which they worked for and the government, as the road ahead is uncertain.
"We don't know who is to be blamed, the management (which did not pay tax and did not have proper business plan), the tax authorities (which slapped over Rs 21,000 crore notice and freezed the factory), the governments (which did not come to our resuce) or our fate," says 28-year old Arun, who was the technician in the factory. His job was to address the faults in a cellphone.
Life after Nokia
"Their is no life after Nokia. It is now question of survival and how it is going to happen, we dont know" says Arun, who was also part of the Union earlier.
Arun and his friend Dinakar have resigned and waiting for their settlement. While Arun, who expects about Rs 7.5-8 lakh (after the tax), says major chunk of it would go towards paying family debt and his montly installments, what left out would be Rs 1.2 lakh.
The question is whether to save the money for his sister's marriage or use it to set up a mobile service shop, which is the only job he knows, in his neighbourood of Ennore. If he chose to set up shop, his estimate is that it would take 5-6 months for the shop to pick up and till that time how to run the family remains the big question.
Dinakar, who hails from a family which has been into agriculture in Southern Tamil Nadu from where majority of the workers came said, "the settlement amount would go towards repaying his father's debt, which was taken for agriculture purpose."
Both the agriculture and the Nokia have brought my family onto the middle of the road, he added.
Dinakar and Arun have walked into seven factories, including a home appliances manufacturer and an automotives, but everybody turned them away.
"Nobody is ready to appoint us. Some feel that since we are from Nokia, where there was Union, we might start union here. Many prefer freshers for us, as their criteria is to appoint diploma holders of ITI graduates," said Dinakar, noting most of the Nokia workers completed only 12th standard and many discontinued their graduations since they are getting job at Nokia.
"We are capable of doing all the works. But even if we are selected, we are offered with the salary of a fresher. Does that mean that the experience of all these years we had in Nokia does not have any value?" questions Arun.
Many of the workers are now using SMS and Whatsapp groups to communicate and update the developments, such as new job openings they find in classified columns or in internet.
Workers urged the State government, which did not come for their rescue, to give trainings and help them to set up enterprises by giving SEED funding, without any collaterals, said Suresh (name changed), who was engaged but not ready to proceed with the marriage.
"We were thinking that our job is assured till we turn 58-year old. We didnt realise such a big organisations one day will wind up like this. How will I start a family life without a job." He is one among the hundreds of unmarried youths in the factory.
Like many, Suresh and Dinakaran have also decided to go back to their natives, which was also visible at small villages like Thiruvellankadu, Thirumazhisai and others where workers have rented houses and now they are deserted.
There are also workers, who have ventured into new businesses like getting into catering, tailoring (almost 50 per cent of the workers of Nokia were women), carpenting.
These workers, were part of the around 5000 people who have opted for Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) in May this year and enrolled themselves into Nokia's 'Bridge' initiative, which offered trainings and skilling the workers based on their areas of interest, conducting awareness sessions to share information and insight into over 30 different skill development modules and employment outlook trainings across industries such as Garment, Automotive, Retail, Hospitality and Beauty Care.
While the management did not share how many people would have benefitted from the initiative, workers said of the around 8,000 workers, atleast 400-500 would have started their own businesses as a stop-gap, and of which not even 100 people would have benefitted from the BRIDGE programme.
They also alleged that these were efforts "to show to the world that they deployed workers in new areas and helped to set up shops".
Some still to resign
Nearly 250 workers are yet to submit their resignations, even though the deadline set by the management to resign, as per an agreement between the workers' union and the company is over. Also cross section of workers, who opted for VRS in May are now asking the management to offer the same compensation, which was agreed as part of severance package which was announced last month.
Suresh and few hundreds of people are sticking to for two reasons - one they still are in hope some good news they would get and two he says can't face the family and soceity without having a job.
"I havn't agreed for the severance package the company offered. Then why should I resign? All I need is job and not a severance package," said Suresh. He was one among the union members who protested on October 31, when the majority of the Union members decided to go for the severance package ans job assurance.
Management and some of the union members called up and asked them to take the offer and some of the workers have conceded to it as of now, said Dilip (name changed), who refused to resign.
He alleged that the management has asked the workers to resign before November 10 and whether they submit the resignation or not, will deposit the amount as severance package offered, on a particular date. However, the workers are given time to resign even after the deadline is over, he added. Nokia did not respond to Business Standard's detailed questionnaire.
