Work resumes in Hindustan Unilever factory

DIBRUGARH: Work resumed at Hindustan Unilever Ltd's factory at Doomdooma on Monday after a 50-day lockout as the company reached a settlement with the workers.

The gates of the factory, which manufactures personal product, opened at 11 am amid tight security and the workers came for work, official sources said.

The decision to reopen the factory was taken after negotiations between company officials and representatives of the newly-floated Hindustan Unilever (Personal Products Factory) Sramik Sangha in the presence of Tinsukia Deputy Commissioner K K Dwivedi and Assistant Labour Commissioner M N Konwar.

The deadlock between the management and union was mainly due to the company's refusal to pay settlement implementation allowance citing 'illegal' strikes on 26 occasions over the past one year.

The company declared the lockout after workers kept 18 company executives in their offices for 16 hours on July six.

It has now agreed to pay Rs 200 a month to each worker as settlement implementation allowance with effect from April, in return for which the union promised to maintain discipline.