Lockout Declared at MRF’s Puducherry Factory

Indian manufacturer MRF has declared a lockout at its Puducherry plant in Southeast India following what has been described as ‘labour unrest’. The company has been facing such problems at its other facilities for more than a year, most dramatically seen when its Tiruvottiyur plant, near Chennai experienced a lockout in late 2007 and early 2008. At this time, the Tamil Nadu state government, its patience tested, beseeched the company to resolve its differences with employees – and threatened to take over the factory if it failed to do so.

Company officials have not yet commented on the latest developments.