CHENNAI, May 16: The Polysindo group is threatening to move out of the ailing engineering company, Best & Crompton, because of the company workers' refusal to accept the voluntary retirement (VRS) scheme proposed by the group.

``Am I running a mint,'' fumed M Sinivasan, chief executive of Polysindo, when the workers persisted in their refusal to accept the compensation package of Rs 1.4 lakh offered by him.

According to K V R Balakrishnan, director of Best & Crompton, the Polysindo group has conveyed its unhappiness to R Venkitaramanan, former governor of RBI and court appointed supervisor for the company, over the recalcitrant attitude of some workers who are not honouring the agreement signed three weeks ago between the joint labour commissioner, Polysindo and the union.

Representatives of the Polysindo group are now having second thoughts in giving an affidavit to the court expressing their willingness to take over the company.

Venkitaramanan has also expressed his unhappiness to Balakrishnan at the attitude of the union and has categorically refused to entertain the workers' views on the matter. He felt that it was purely between the management (who is going to invest) and the workers to arrive at a consensus. According to Balakrishnan, Venkitaramanan held the view that when an agreement has been made and ratified between the joint labour commissioner, Polysindo and the union, it was final. The court supervisor/administrator or anybody else had to abide by it.

Venkitaramanan also said that if Polysindo withdraws its commitment to the company, he would have no choice but to recommend to the Madras High Court that the company be liquidated (on account of the winding up petition filed seven months back) or be referred to BIFR.

The company has extended the deadline for workers to seek the VRS scheme. It has received positive response from 50 % of 275 workers to whom the scheme was offered.

Balakrishnan told The Indian Express that financial institutions had recommended retrenchment as early as 1994, when the rehabilitation package for the company was drawn up. The institutions felt that the company was using obsolete technology and that to spruce up its product lines, automation was necessary, which would imply retrenchment.

Accordingly, a scheme was drafted and workers agreed to a compensation of Rs 1.15 lakh. However, for lack of funds, 50 % of the employees who wished to leave were still kept on regular pay rolls. In the fresh agreement signed recently, Polysindo agreed on a package of Rs 1.4 lakh as VRS.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.