Employees of Ballarpur Industries Limited (BILT) at Kamalapur in Mangapet mandal have ended their relay hunger strike over closure of the factory after 414 days of protest.
Truce talks
The decision was taken following intervention by the State government, which held talks with the management for reopening of the unit and offered a wide range of concessions to the factory management in the interest of employees there. Two days ago, the Joint Action Committee of employees and management had held the final round of talks in Hyderabad.
The employees said the management had asked them not to insist on certain benefits such as LTA and medical reimbursement as it had no finances. Giving up on the benefits could save the company ₹5 crore annually. However, the management reportedly agreed to give them 40 months of pending wages in instalments over the next 50 months.
Govt. subsidies
The State government had already agreed to provide the factory free power, coal and subsidy in subabul trees to the tune of ₹45 crore annually for the next seven years. It may be noted that the IDBI issued notices to seize the factory as the management owed ₹541 crore. But, the management has agreed to pay back the loan once production begins.
The factory produces pulp that is needed for making paper. The pulp would be supplied to factories in Maharashtra from here.
There were 2,000 employees at the factory when it was closed down on April 4, 2014. Now, it has 580 employees. The factory is likely to begin production in a fortnight and would be recruiting 340 employees and 200 more as management staff.