Consequently, 500 of the total 2,500 workers will be rendered jobless and have been denied entry into the factory premises. The decision has been taken by the management in view of continued disruptive activities and poor performance by workers. The company already closed down one of the three continuous units from June 20 and has incurred a loss of more than Rs 80 crore since last four months.

Company president SK Jain confirmed the decision and said that the Citu-affiliated trade unions had been rejecting the settlement with the management on wages and other issues in April, 1997. This was despite the fact that these settlements had been arrived at under the aegis of the district collector, labour commissionerand the management.

"We had to declare a lock-out due to the union's attitude," Jain said, adding that this was affecting the quality of products. He said that the workers would be paid their wages from July 9 to July 20.

The management had notified the deputy labour commissioner and trade union of the lock-out on July 5. When the workers turned up for duty at around 7 am on July 9, they were taken aback by the sudden declaration of the lockout. What followed was an impulsive reaction from the workers - they ransacked the security office and manhandled the staff.

The Nagpur rural police are keeping a watch on the situation. About 100 personnel from the Butibori police station have been despatched to the factory site.

Jain did not expect any disruption in the law and order situation in the other units manufacturing spun yarn. He said that if the workers worked towards restoring normalcy, the lockout could be lifted earlier.

The company has estimated a loss of nearly Rs 18 crore if the lockout hadbeen effective from July 20. Jain did not divulge the exact figure but said it would be appreciable if the lockout continued.