Bata Chief Warns Of Tapering Investments

Rino Ritzo, the Toronto-based chief executive officer of Bata Shoe Organisation, has said that the recent labour problems at Batanagar, culminating in the assault on the Bata India managing director W K Weston, will have an impact on future investments in the Batanagar factory.

Ritzo's views on the Batanagar issue came during a week-long series of meetings held by the Bata worldwide top brass in Calcutta.

The Bata "Vision 2001" plan, which was discussed at various meetings this week, has focused on quality as the key factor in improving the company's performance.

According to the company, offering 'value for money' will ensure higher sales and growth.

There has, however, been no change in the investment outlay already decided upon. The proposed investment for 1998 for the technological upgradation is around Rs 20 crore.

The chief executive is understood to be 'extremely disappointed' about the politicisation of the issue, as no tangible follow-up action has been taken by the state authorities.

Despite the fact that more than a month has elapsed since the managing director was assaulted and injured by members of the executive committee of the Bata Mazdoor Union, no arrests have been made so far.

The company had lodged an FIR against Weston's assailants the day the assault took place.

Says Ritzo, "We are here to do business free of politics. Militant trade unionism has not paid off anywhere. We are hopeful that that all necessary steps will be taken to ensure the healthy growth of industrialisation."

Ritzo is in Calcutta leading a 16-member team comprising top officials of Bata outfits in the subcontinent and Singapore along with senior representatives from the company's headquarters at Toronto.

The team has conducted a series of meetings for the Vision 2001 plan for the subcontinent, where seven of the company's outfits are located.

According to the company's senior vice president M J Z Mowla, the team wassatisfied with the achievements of Bata India, but would not ignore or overlook the recent instances of labour militancy at the company's largest factory in the world. The team is looking for a higher level of performance from the factory. Batanagar took centrestage in most of the meetings as it rolls out one lakh pairs of footwear and employs 6,500 people in its factory. It is, therefore, the largest factory of the company worldwide. No member of the overseas delegation met representatives of the Bata Mazdoor Union nor did the union ask for a meeting with any of them.