Swc, Workers On Collision Course Again
The Manohar Rajaram Chhabria-controlled liquor firm Shaw Wallace & Company (SWC) and the Shaw Wallace Employees Federation are at loggerheads once again, with the company deciding to pay "wage proportionate payment" to the workers of three of its units for what the company calls "resorting to go-slows, work-to-rule, postering and other acts of indiscipline".
The wage proportionate payment pertains to the almost 700 workers of Bengal Distillery, Andhra Winery and Distillery and Maharashtra Distilleries, for the month of January.
The affected workers of these units were now in a fix, unable to realise the rationale for the wage-cut, which they termed arbitrary.
Confirming the move, an SWC spokesperson said these alleged acts of indiscipline "adversely affected the company's production and despatches. What is worse, this was done during the months of September, October, November, December and January which is peak season for liquor sales."
"The company's production and despatches were adversely affected in the all-important millennium month, i.e, December 1999," the spokesperson pointed out. He added that the move had been made "in all fairness to shareholders and stakeholders of SWC".
He claimed this was done after repeated letters and notices having been sent to the workers' unions over these four months failed to elicit a favourable response in respect of maintaining normal production and despatch levels.
The company claims the copies of these communications were also sent to the labour department.