Lockout At Gkw'S Howrah Unit
GKW Ltd, the K K Bangur-controlled engineering firm, has issued a suspension of work order at its steel division unit in Howrah. A pall of gloom has descended on the 1250-plus workers after the suspension notice was put up at the unit on Sunday at a time when the city had started warming up to the approaching Durga Puja festivities.
This is the second lockout in GKW during the year. The management had declared a lockout at its Sankey Electrical Stampings divisions factory at Bhandup in Mumbai in February citing the persistent industrial relations problems as the reason for the action.
A tripartite meeting of the labour commissioner, government of West Bengal, the workers unions and the management is likely to take place today. The management representative of the steel division could not be contacted for comments. Members of the five major unions at GKW held a meeting on Monday to close ranks and work out a joint course of action, according to Ashim Chakraborty, general secretary of the Citu-affiliated GKW Headoffice & Works Employees' Union.
The unions are likely to work out their strategy after the meeting with the labour commissioner.
GKW posted a net loss of Rs 25.23 crore during 1997-98. Sources close to the management said that general slowdown in the economy, especially in the automobile and electrical machinery sectors which constitute the company's major business segments, and severe liquidity problems experienced by the end user industries has had an adverse impact on the company.
This has affected the operating margins and sales volumes of the steel, electrical stampings, wheels and powmex steel division which sustained losses.
Net sales or income from operations, too, dipped by 23.41 per cent to Rs 239.10 crore during the previous fiscal as against Rs 312.22 crore in 1996-97. Other income, which includes profit on sale of investment in shares, increased from Rs 11.14 crore in 1996-97 to Rs 12.69 crore in 1997-98.
While interest totalled Rs 25.60 crore (Rs 21.93 crore), voluntary separation costs written off stood at Rs 4.28 crore as against Rs 4.04 crore in the previous fiscal. The company posted a gross loss of Rs 15.81 crore in last fiscal compared with a gross profit of Rs 13.53 crore in 1996-97. Net loss was pegged at Rs 25.23 crore against a net profit of Rs 4.80 crore on a paid-up equity capital of Rs 29.59 crore. Reserves (excluding property revaluation reserves) stood at Rs 61.70 crore compared with Rs 94.16 crore.