Maha govt against Raymond's Thane realty plan

Textile and apparel major Raymond’s plan to utilise 125 acres of land at its Thane plant for residential and commercial purposes has met with strong objection from the Maharashtra government.

The government has categorically stated it would not approve the company’s move to close its plant at the cost of the interest of its over 2,000 workers.

“The management, which has already decided to close down the Thane plant, is paying a monthly salary to over 2,000 workers. While the labour union is pressing for a compensation package of Rs 350 crore, the management is sticking to its offer of Rs 150 crore. There is a clear disagreement between the management and the workers. The government will make all efforts to protect workers’ interests and will not allow the management to close the mill and go for real estate development,” State Labour Minister Hasan Mushrif told Business Standard.

State Labour Commissioner Arvind Kumar said if the company’s management was not keen to run the Thane plant it would be operated through the central government undertaking National Textile Corporation or the state government-run Maharashtra State Textile Corporation.

He reiterated the government would not give any approval until the workers were benefited. When contacted, Raymond sources were not available for comment.

Jitendra Joshi, chief of the Kamgar Utkarsh Sabha, the Raymond workers’ union, alleged the management had closed operations at the Thane plant for eight months by diverting the jobs to its other units in various parts of the country. The workers have no work but were receiving monthly salaries.

“We want the management to restore the production at the plant. If the management is not in a position to do so, the company should be nationalised. We expect the government will come to our help,” he added.

Joshi confirmed that the management has shown its reluctance to increase the package beyond Rs 150 crore.