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Dr Reddy's Hyderabad unit staff on strike

Radhika in Hyderabad

It is bitter medicine for the country's leading pharmaceuticals major, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Limited, or DRL, in Hyderabad.

Labour unrest is plaguing its formulations unit at Bachupalli with employees going on an indefinite strike protesting against 'arbitrary service conditions and unfair labour practices'.

The rift between the management of the country's third-largest pharmaceutical company and its employees at the formulation unit-II cropped up following the recent shift from six-day-a-week system to five days and increase in working hours from eight to nine-and-half hours a day.

"Because of this unilateral decision of the management, workmen are losing their earned leave and festival holidays. Our shifts are being shuffled in such a way that we are made to work for an average 52 hours a week. This violates the Factories Act," Satyanarayana, the president of the Dr Reddy's Laboratories Formulations Employees Union, or DRLFEU, alleged.

The production activities at Bachupalli unit, which accounts for a major share of the company's four leading finished dosage brands, are badly affected in the wake of the strike by the 100-odd workmen since Saturday last and the impasse appears to prolong with both sides remaining unrelenting.

The management of DRL, which registered a sales turnover of Rs 4.26 billion during 1998-99 with formulations alone accounting for Rs 1.63 billion, has alleged that a 'small group of employees abetted by outsiders with vested interests are resorting to illegal agitation'.

"We at DRL are keen on instituting world-class systems in our efforts to become the global leader in healthcare. As part of the process, the company has introduced a five-day week from January this year," a spokesperson of the company, Anuradha Atlekar, said.

Beyond reiterating that adequate measures will be taken to ensure unhindered production, the company has been refusing to comment on problems relating to the working conditions, wage disparities among its five manufacturing units, three bulk drug and two formulation units, located at Bolarum and Bachupalli.

The main grouse of the DRLFEU, registered last year, is that the management has been refusing to recognise the union and unwilling to hold negotiations to sort out the matters.

Meanwhile, the union has moved the city civil courts at Medchel, in the adjoining Ranga Reddy district, pleading for restraining the management from implementing the changes in service conditions, restraining it from shifting the materials and machinery from the unit and also engaging outside contract workers in the place of the striking workmen.

With the DRL management already filing a caveat, the hearing in the case commenced on Tuesday.

The union president Satyanarayana also alleged that the management had in the past five months repeatedly scuttled the efforts of labour department officials to forge bilateral agreement on service conditions.

"After sensing that the management was forcibly seeking resignation letters from employees with a view to bring in contract system, we floated the trade union to oppose these unfair labour practices," he said.

The Union had given strike notices on two occasions since January last but agreed to abide by the outcome of the conciliation proceedings initiated by the labour department.

"We had to face illegal suspension of our office-bearers and workers for organising protests.

What has caused the unrest is the management's persistent refusal to recognise us and come forward for negotiations," the Union President said.

Maintaining that their Union was totally independent and has no political affiliation, he said the strike will continue till service conditions are changes and disparities in wages in the two formulation units are removed.

The DRL, founded in 1984, is a major success story in India's pharmaceutical history as it has emerged as a key player in the international market as well. It is now a fully integrated pharmaceutical organisation having world class expertise in developing and manufacturing a wide range of finished dosages, bulk actives and diagnostics for Indian and international markets.

The company had recently announced merger of Cheminor Drugs and American Remedies with it, making it the third largest pharmaceutical company in the country. The company, at its five units, employs 356 workmen, 623 supporting staff, 762 field staff, 341 executives and 22 senior management staff.

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