Indo Rama, union ink settlement pact

The workers and management of Indo Rama Textiles (IRTL) finally inked the long-term settlement (LTS) on Wednesday and maintained that it was the best settlement signed till now.

The agreement was signed in the office of Assistant Labour Commissioner, Sudhakar Kumbhare, by the elected representatives of workers and management representatives. The LTS materialised due to the mediation of Maharashtra Textiles Minister Satish Chaturvedi.

Negotiations for the LTS had begun immediately after the MoU between workers and management was signed on October 25. In Indo Rama Synthetics (IRSL), however, the LTS is yet to be signed. The firing incident of September 17, which led to the 37-day-long strike, had taken place at IRSL.

Following the LTS, workers will get a hike in salary of Rs 1,550 to Rs 2,100 over the next three years, depending on their grades. They will get Diwali bonus of 8.33 per cent plus award of Rs 500 in the first year, Rs 600 in the second year and Rs 700 in the third year. For this year, the management has already paid Rs 6,000 as advance, a senior company official said.

The LTS came into effect from November 1, 2005 and will remain in operation till October 31, 2008.

The management agreed to give promotions pending since 1998 and also to take back four of the six suspended workers.

The workers also agreed to accept the management's proposal for abolishing the posts of jobber and reliever. The September 17 incident was not touched in the discussions as it was felt that it did not concern IRTL. The court case filed by the management for declaring the strike as illegal will not be withdrawn.

Both sides agreed to strive for the growth of the company. They decided to increase co-ordination and discussions between themselves, to ensure that such incidents are not repeated and that both have a harmonious relationship in future.