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Bharat Process opts for retrenchment

Indrani Dutta

KOLKATA, July 25

AROUND 77 employees of the public sector Bharat Process & Mechanical Engineers Ltd (BPMEL), located here, have been retrenched. The company, which had stopped production for more than a year, declared closure immediately afterwards on July 16.

According to company sources, they had to resort to retrenchment as the employees concerned -- mostly members of the CITU-affiliated union -- had not opted for the voluntary separation scheme (VSS) that was kept open till July 15. However, 38 other emplo yees were released under the scheme which enabled them to get ``a much better financial deal''.

Mr R.P. Singh, Chairman of the holding company Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam Ltd (BBUNL), told Business Line that while various expert committees had recommended BPMEL's closure, the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) had not sanctioned any revival package for the company. BPMEL's net loss stood at Rs 28.02 crore in 2000-01, while its accumulated losses were around Rs 252 crore.

Acting under the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, the management gave the 77 employees their 15 days' salary as compensation for retrenchment. This apart, they would also be entitled to their statutory dues.

Sources said that BPMEL was incorporated in October 1980 after the nationalisation of the erstwhile Bird & Company Ltd. With the formation of BBUNL, as a holding company in 1986, BPMEL became a BBUNL subsidiary. Its product range included cranes, industr ial water treatment plants and sub-assemblies for steel plants.

Two other BBUNL group companies -- Reyrolle Burn Ltd (workforce - 196) and WeighBird India Ltd (140) -- have already closed down. In both these cases, all the employees had availed of the VSS benefit.

BBUNL is now planning to sell off the assets of RBL. As for BBUNL's other subsidiaries (there are eight of them), the process of disinvestment has already begun for Jessop, while discontinuation of operations was being considered for Bharat Wagon and Eng ineering Ltd with headquarters in Patna.