NPP කිව්වට පරණ වාමාශික මාක්ස්වාදී 'අධිරාජ්ය විරෝධී' වැඩවර්ජන හණමිටි ජෙප්පො දැන් නිෂ්පාදනය වැඩි කරනවලු GDP double කරනවලු. Factory පවත්වාගෙන යන්න උන් එක්ක සාම ගිවිසුම් ගහන්න ඕනේ උන්ට කප්පම් ගෙවන්න ඕනේ.
Unilever signs peace pact with JVP
16th September 2001
Landmark collective agreement ends 9-month dispute
By Chanakya Dissanayake
Unilever Ceylon Ltd (UCL), helped by the entry of a new chairman, has entered into a landmark collective agreement with a JVP union, ending a nine-month dispute about the proposed factory expansion at Sapugaskanda.
The expansion of soap production lines from the existing factory at Colombo 13 to a plant at Sapugaskanda, was originally planned for the beginning of 2001. However, due to a crippling protest campaign led by the JVP trade union demanding higher compensation, the expansion was put on hold resulting in heavy losses.
Mike Thompson, UCL chairman at the time, told the Sunday Times Business Desk in an exclusive interview some months ago, that the company may even pull out its production facilities if the labour force continues to resist change.
Ehsan Malik, the new UCL chairman who took over from Thompson this month, said the company had achieved a breakthrough in employee relations by making the trade union understand the need for change.
"We have better communication with our trade union now. They have realised the reasons for expansion," Malik said. " I can't say whether we should have done this six months ago. But I am certainly happy that we have settled the matter," he added.
S. Amarasinghe, secretary of the JVP union (former JVP MP දැන් බැසිල්ගේ ගොට්ටෙක් ) at Unilever said at a time when the JVP is being blamed for all the corporate ills "we were able to show the whole country how to win demands by peaceful means". Union sources said the JVP union may not represent the company's entire workforce but its demands then were backed by other unions.
The production line expansion at Sapugaskanda will realise efficiency gains leading to an increase in output and increase UCL's competitiveness in the region. "The gains we realise through the expansion could eventually lead to exporting the products to the region," Malik said.
Meanwhile, the labour dispute at the UCL's Walls ice cream plant which led to the plant been closed down, is now in the arbitration process. Malik indicated that the company might reopen the plant if an amicable settlement is reached with the workforce, again led by the JVP union.
There is speculation that if Unilever decides to close down its Walls operation, the John Keells (JKH) group might make an offer to acquire the factory.
If JKH took over this business, it would have a virtual monopoly status in the local ice cream industry through its Elephant House range. "If Unilever decides to sell its Walls factory, we may consider the option of acquiring it," JKH deputy chairman Jagath Fernando said when asked for his comments.
UCL has been operating in Sri Lanka for the past 60 years and enjoys leading market shares in almost all the consumer product categories. Its country performance indicator - share of wallet, which measures the proportion an average consumer spends on Unilever products in day-to-day activities, stands at 2% - 3% in Sri Lanka. This is the highest for Unilever in the South Asian region.
UCL offers 14 brands in Sri Lanka, but most of its revenue comes from laundry and washing products. Its largest brand, Sunlight, enjoys an 80% market share in the laundry product market.
"The scope of growth in the laundry market is limited. In 3 - 5 years time I want most of the revenue to come from personal care products," Malik said.
The company is planning to introduce premium personal care products including shower gels and its top end toilet soap, Dove. "Timing is essential for the introduction of premium products. We expect the Sri Lankan economy to recover in the near future and then we will introduce the value added products," Malik said. Commenting on competition from local producers, he said the company has introduced an "enterprise culture" to eliminate straight-jacketed management styles and improve flexibility in decision-making.
"We have created multi-disciplined brand teams around our products. A given team will be autonomous and will include 7 - 8 managers from all functions. This will improve our responsiveness to local competition," he said.
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https://www.sundaytimes.lk/010916/busm.html
SRI LANKA: Unilever closes Wall’s ice cream factory over labour dispute
Anglo-Dutch conglomerate Unilever has suspended operations at its Wall's ice cream factory in Sri Lanka after employees downed tools over a pay dispute.
The employees had staged a picket after the secretary of a branch union was fired. The company commented that employees had gone out on strike “following disciplinary action taken against two employees who disrupted the agreed production process”. In a statement, Unilever said that demands from a branch union had been rejected as unreasonable and subsequent action has been seen as “holding the company to ranson”.
However,
Vijitha Herath, head of the Inter Company Workers Union, said that that have been no threats or intimidation.
Earlier this year, speculation was rife that Unilever may pull out of Sri Lanka altogether, as labour unrest had slowed production and earnings growth. The latest events make this possibility even more likely.