Swc Awaits Union Verdict On Vrs

Shaw Wallace & Co has not made much headway in implementing its voluntary retirement scheme, which involves considerable downsizing of its workforce in its registered office in Calcutta.

A company spokesman said the SWC management is waiting for feedback on the issue from the All India Shaw Wallace Employees Federation.

The company is bearing expenses to the tune of Rs 4 crore annually to support the 200-strong surplus staff, at its Calcutta office.

This include salaries and concomitant costs, he said.

SWC board director P J Rao is in charge of implementing the scheme which was mooted about eight months ago.

On January 12, this year, there was a tripartite meeting between the companys management, the Citu and the All India Shaw Wallace Employees Federation, and the management is awaiting necessary feedback from the unions on the VRS issue, in order to proceed with the scheme.

From the managements side, there were four representatives--senior vice- presidents S P Chaudhuri and Satpal Chaudhuri, A Kapoor, wholetime director Shaw Wallace Gelatines and K K Banerjee in-charge of the agri-chemicals division, who conducted the meeting.

The company has roughly 238 unionised staff at its Bankshall Court office in Calcutta, out of which around 40 are serving in the gelatines, agrichemicals and consumer products division.

Of the 200 persons in the corporate office, about 50 involved in departments relating to inter-corporate deposits, fixed deposit, provident fund and other need-based activities are likely to be retained.

Out of the remaining 150 employees, around 90 are above 50 years of age and can easily opt for VRS, the spokesman said.

The balance will be redeployed within the company.

Since its inception, Calcutta had been the hub of business activies for the liquor major, as most of its earlier businesses such as yeast, coal , Tezpore Tea and shipping were located here.

However, as these businesses were sold one by one, there had been no major cut down in the workforce of the company.

Earlier, last year, the liquor major had offered re-employment to all eligible workers who were rendered jobless on account of closure of Andhra Winery & Distillery at Hyderabad due to imposition of prohibition in the state in January 1995.

The winery had remained closed for over 30 months.