Caveat Emptorium, the Latin maxim for “Customers Beware!” is what Rajmohan Pillai, chairman, Beta Group, Kerala’s lead industrialist tells prospective entrepreneurs who want to make investment in the State. This is the first time the soft spoken Pillai is using critical comments about his own State. What made him come out in the open is the ill-fated venture by 41-year old Rajesh Babu of Kollam whose Taurean Metals became yet another victim of ‘trade union terrorism”.
A West Asian returnee, Babu spent his entire life’s earning of Rs one crore and availed loan worth Rs 1.5 crore to set up Taurean Metal in the hope that his zodiac sign Taurus would not let him down. By last week, it became clear to him that Taurus has not brought any good luck to him and the enterprises that cost him Rs three crore had to be shut down. The unit, the first fully automated iron and steel super market offered customers quality products at reasonable prices. Babu even installed giant crane for safe loading and unloading of raw materials and finished products which did away with the service of head load workers, a law unto themselves in the State.
“The crane was installed at a cost of Rs 28 lakh.
But the trade union bosses wanted me to pay the head load workers the sum determined by them whether I hire their services or not. The unloading and loading of goods is a skilled job because it could be executed only with expertise,” Babu told The Pioneer.
The customers who placed orders with Babu for purchasing the products were driven away by the militant trade union workers.
“We will not allow them to have any business from here so long as they do not employ any of the workers affiliated with is,” said the local boss of the CITU.
When Babu pointed out that he had made alternate arrangements for loading and unloading, the workers told him they were not bothered about it. “Whether I avail their services or not, I have to pay at the rate of Rs 18 for every bag of cement and Rs 550/- for every ton of steel. When I approached the High Court, I got an order issued asking the State administration to issue Labor Card. But the labor commissioner is shying away from issuing the Card citing political pressure. The labor minister, whom I contacted last told me that he would ask the labor commissioner to do the needful,” said Babu.
Babu is all tensed up as the date of paying the bank instalment is fast approaching. He said every month he has to pay Rs 1.5 lakh as the interest to bank. He has downed the shutters of the company despite faced with uncertainty. Though Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan declared at Kochi early this month that no one would be allowed to take law into their own hands, till date no action has been taken by the State administration to resolve the face off. More than a dozen business houses have shut down their businesses in the State on account of labor unrest.
“Situation is very grave and grim in Kerala because of the stance of trade unions and militant workers. Unless these issues are sorted out once and for ever, there is no possibility for the State to get rid of the tag line industrial graveyard”, said Rajmohan Pillai.