TTK Healthcare shuts its idle Waluj plant

The TTK Healthcare company in Waluj, manufacturing catheter and lancets, has downed shutters on November 1.

The company had earlier closed its unit in November 2003 at Chikalthana, where condoms and hand gloves were produced. Closure of Waluj unit marks the exit of the TTK group, which has interests in pharmaceuticals, consumer durables and writing instruments, from Aurangabad.

There were 88 confirmed workers and 28 staff in the company. Barring a few staff members all of them have quit. Sources said shortage of funds, non-availability of raw material and absence of order for its material have caused the downfall of the company.

Spread over 9 acres, the spacious air-conditioned plant still has excellent infrastructure. The company was trying to sell off the unit and some prospective buyers had even visited the plant but no deal materialized.

Confirming the closure, the Citu leader Uddhav Bhavalkar, said the union tried its best to keep the unit alive but management expressed its inability to run the show. It has been decided that workers would be paid compensation of Rs.8100 per year of service plus all legal dues like provident fund and gratuity.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed on October 31. Workers would recieve the cheques on November 7. Most of the workmen worked for a tenure of six to 15 years. Nobody from the management was available for comments.

The company's decision to shut down the plant has not come as a surprise to the workers. For nearly six months, they did not have any work and were being paid idle wages. Workers wages were not revised since June 2002 and in January this year, they had even threatened to go on strike.

However, crisis was warded off when the company offered interim hike to them. This proved only a temporary reprieve, as the company could not carry on for log. Demise of the TTK has added on more name in the list of closed factories in Aurangabad.

The only silver lining in the cloud was that TTK workers would get their legal dues. It may be noted that workers of companies like Patheja Forging, Carona and Jhalani Tools have not yet got their money.