Stalemate Continues at Apollo PTL Site

The lockout at PTL Enterprises Ltd in India appears to have reached a stalemate, with both parties sticking to their respective positions without compromise. According to an official at Apollo Tyres, the employees’ unions demand that the lockout end as a pre-condition to enter into further negotiations, while management at the Apollo Tyres supplier say the company will end the lockout only after the issues are discussed and settled.

“The past experiences are that once the lockout is withdrawn, then these workers will not turn up for discussions at all. Therefore, we want all the issues to be discussed and resolved before withdrawing the lockout”, the anonymous source told the Business Line newspaper. “What we want is an increase in productivity and if they don’t give it then there is no point in lifting the lockout as running it at the current level of productivity would be totally unviable.”

The unions involved say they are ready to discuss all the issues mentioned in the lockout notice. The main issue is not productivity, they say. Rather, it is the proposed relocation of the factory to a site where expansion can take place that is causing the most unhappiness amongst employees. The source at Apollo Tyres said no relocation would take place without reaching an agreement with workers.