Apollo Tyres, the sole recipient of products manufactured by PTL Enterprises, has expressed its hope that unions will work with management to save the jobs of more than 1,000 employees at the company’s Kalamassery factory. A list of 12 items management consider inherent for the survival of the factory were on the agenda at a January 7 meeting convened by the Kerala state labour minister, Mr P K Gurudasan. Of these 12 items, reports Apollo Tyres, unions agreed to consider only three. The remainder, they said, would be discussed only after the lockout is lifted. This has, says Apollo, left management “completely disheartened”, as it says previous lockouts have also taken this route without resolution to a single pending request taking place. All 12 items, says the Indian manufacturer, relate to better manufacturing practices and the need to expand and modernise for higher efficiencies. Company management has also appealed to the Kerala State Government to play a positive role, which it says will result in better industrial standards, more employment and even higher Government revenues.