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INTRODUCTION
ASSAULT CASE
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
For Bata, labor had always posed major problems. Strikes
seemed to be a perennial problem. Much before the assault case, Bata's
chronically restive factory at Batanagar had always plagued by labor strife. In
1992, the factory was closed for four and a half months. In 1995, Bata entered
into a 3-year bipartite agreement with the workers, represented by the then
10,000 strong BMU, which also had the West Bengal government as a signatory.
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On July 21, 1998, Weston was severely assaulted by
four workers at the company's factory at Batanagar, while he was attending
a business meet. The incident occurred after a member of BMU, Arup Dutta,
met Weston to discuss the issue of the suspended employees. Dutta
reportedly got into a verbal duel with Weston, upon which the other
workers began to shout slogans. When Weston tried to leave the room the
workers turned violent and assaulted him. This was the second attack on an
officer after Weston took charge of the company, the first one being the
assault on the chief welfare officer in 1996.
In February 1999, a lockout was declared in Bata's Faridabad Unit.
Middleton commented that the closure of the unit would not have much
impact on the company's revenues as it was catering to lower-end products
such as canvas and Hawaii chappals. The lock out lasted for eight months.
In October 1999, the unit resumed production when Bata signed a three-year
wage agreement. |
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On March 8, 2000, a lockout was declared at Bata's Peenya
factory in Bangalore, following a strike by its employee union. The new
leadership of the union had refused to abide by the wage agreement, which was
to expire in August 2001. Following the failure of its negotiations with the
union, the management decided to go for a lock out. Bata management was of the
view that though it would have to bear the cost of maintaining an idle plant (Rs.
3 million), the effect of the closures on sales and production would be minimal
as the footwear manufactured in the factory could be shifted to the company's
other factories and associate manufacturers. The factory had 300 workers on its
rolls and manufactured canvas and PVC footwear.
In July 2000, Bata lifted the lockout at the Peenya factory. However, some of
the workers opposed the company's move to get an undertaking from the factory
employees to resume work. The employees demanded revocation of suspension
against 20 of their fellow employees. They also demanded that conditions such
as maintaining normal production schedule, conforming to standing orders and
the settlement in force should not be insisted upon.
In September 2000, Bata was again headed for a labour dispute when the BMU
asked the West Bengal government to intervene in what it perceived to be a
downsizing exercise being undertaken by the management. BMU justified this move
by alleging that the management has increased outsourcing of products and also
due to perceived declining importance of the Batanagar unit. The union said
that Bata has started outsourcing the Power range of fully manufactured shoes
from China, compared to the earlier outsourcing of only assembly and sewing
line job. The company's production of Hawai chappals at the Batanagar unit too
had come down by 58% from the weekly capacity of 0.144 million pairs. These
steps had resulted in lower income for the workers forcing them to approach the
government for saving their interests.
PS: Weston resigned on January 30, 2001. This came as a severe setback to the
Bata management.
ADDITIONAL READINGS
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