Labour problems bordering on physical violence has brought to a standstill the manufacturing activity at the Cable Corporation of India (CCI) factory located at Borivali, a northern suburb of Mumbai city that employs 550 workers, many of whom went on a rampage on Saturday.
The labour unrest could not have been more wrongly timed for the company that after more than a year of low production levels ranging around Rs 3.5 crore a month has witnessed increased production of their power cables to the tune of Rs 8 crore in the last two months.
The future of the factory is at threat with the current labour strife that appears to have been inspired by the attempts to dislodge the recognised trade union: the Shramik Utkarsha Sabha (SUS) led by Vijay Kamble by rival trade union, the Engineering Mazdoor Sabha (EMS), led by R J Mehta.
Saturday also witnessed the disbursement of salaries as well as special awards to around 100 workers who completed 25 years of service in the company.
Girish D Bhingarkar, director, human resources at CCI, admitted that salaries, usually paid by the 10th of every month, have been delayed by two to three weeks for some time.
