Staff refuse to bite Century’s VRS bait at Worli property
More than 82 employees of BK Birla Group company Century Textiles’ Worli mill are reluctant to accept the company’s voluntary retirement scheme, which could delay the group’s proposed plan to develop the prime piece of land.
By ET Bureau |
MUMBAI: More than 82 employees of BK Birla Group company Century Textiles��� Worli mill are reluctant to accept the company���s voluntary retirement scheme, which could delay the group���s proposed plan to develop the prime piece of land. According to sources familiar with the matter, the workers are protesting against the company���s decision to shut the plant and have moved the industrial tribunal in Mumbai, where the matter is currently pending.
Century���s plan to develop the Worli land ��� a prime chunk of land in central Mumbai ��� hinges on every worker accepting the VRS, following which the company would start dismantling operations and initiate building work. Century had initiated the VRS scheme in November 2006 for its entire 6,600 employees at the Worli unit. Century officials declined to comment.
Of the 30 acres that Century had been operating on, about 10 acres had been leased to the BK Birla Group by the Wadia Group for 999 years. The VRS and the eventual shutting down of the Worli plant is part of Century���s overall plan to shift textile manufacturing to Gujarat. Chairman BK Birla had earlier said that the Worli textile mill wasn���t viable anymore.
The textile unit has been shut since January 12, after the state government approved the closure under the Industrial Disputes Act. For the year ended March 2008, the loss of the discontinued Worli textile mill was Rs 28.94 crore; revenue Rs 5.55 crore, compared to Rs 157.51 crore in the previous year.
Century���s plan to develop the Worli land ��� a prime chunk of land in central Mumbai ��� hinges on every worker accepting the VRS, following which the company would start dismantling operations and initiate building work. Century had initiated the VRS scheme in November 2006 for its entire 6,600 employees at the Worli unit. Century officials declined to comment.
Of the 30 acres that Century had been operating on, about 10 acres had been leased to the BK Birla Group by the Wadia Group for 999 years. The VRS and the eventual shutting down of the Worli plant is part of Century���s overall plan to shift textile manufacturing to Gujarat. Chairman BK Birla had earlier said that the Worli textile mill wasn���t viable anymore.
The textile unit has been shut since January 12, after the state government approved the closure under the Industrial Disputes Act. For the year ended March 2008, the loss of the discontinued Worli textile mill was Rs 28.94 crore; revenue Rs 5.55 crore, compared to Rs 157.51 crore in the previous year.
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