One thousand seven hundred employees of the Dunlop India Ltd at Sahagunj-West Bengal, and Ambattur-Tamil Nadu, have decided to opt for VRS in order to save the ailing company from closure. According to an agreement signed between the Dunlop Workers Union and the Management on 24 January 2006, out of the total workforce of 4,000, the company will retain 1,300 and 1,000 workers from Sahugunj and Ambattur plants, respectively. The management has agreed to reopen the company by June 2006.

Dunlop India Ltd. commenced activities in Sahagunj in 1936 and in Ambattur in 1959. For a long time, control and ownership were in the hands of the British. In the year 1988, the company, which was making huge profits, was taken over by Dubai-based Jumbo group of Manu R. Chhabria. But within a span of ten years, it was referred to the Board for Industrial & Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) due to mismanagement and misappropriation of funds. The company, which was closed in 1998, reopened due to the concerted efforts from all quarters, only to be again shut down in March 2001. The management had even sold the administrative headquarters of the company - the Dunlop House - to a businessman for Rs 9.7 crores.

Soon after the closure, the workers of the company opted for different modes of protest. But the prolonged closure for four years and the impasse that followed had weakened them. The workers and their families were struggling to survive. A few cases of suicide deaths due to financial crisis were also reported. It was at this juncture that the Ruia group acquired Dunlop for 2 billion rupees in an offshore deal with the Chabbarias.

After incessant discussions in both bipartite and tripartite meetings, the new management agreed to pay 11 months` outstanding wages to the workers. Initially, the workers would get Rs 30,000 and the rest of the amount would be paid in installments. According to the agreement, after the factory starts production, the workers would get a yearly increment of Rs 100. After three years, a 10 per cent increment of their gross wages has also been agreed upon.

The 1,200 workers who opted for VRS would get a maximum of Rs 1.2 lakhs. In actual calculation of the years put in, the workers are entitled for more financial benefits. But the VRS optees have decided to sacrifice these and agree to the deal only to see that the factory reopens and production commences.

The West Bengal government has shown keen interest in solving the deadlock. The Chief Minister has assured every support for the speedy reopening of the Sahagunj unit. He has given an assurance of the maximum possible waiver to the company on its outstanding sales tax and electricity bills.