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Philips India - Labor Problems at Salt Lake

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Philips India - Labor Problems at Salt Lake
Philips India - Labor Problems at Salt Lake
"They (unions) should realize that they are just one of the stakeholders in the company and have to accept the tyranny of the market place."
'' Manohar David, Director, PIL in 1996.

Case Details
Case Code : HROB004
Themes: HR Problems
Case Length : 05 Pages
Period : 1992-2000
Organization : Philips India Videocon
Pub Date : 2002
Teaching Note : Available
Countries : India
Industry : Consumer Goods & Services

Selling Blues
The 16th day of March 1999 brought with it a shock for the management of Philips India Limited (PIL). A judgement of the Kolkata1 High Court restrained the company from giving effect to the resolution it had passed in the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held in December 1998. The resolution was to seek the shareholders' permission to sell the color television (CTV) factory to Kitchen Appliances Limited, a subsidiary of Videocon.
| |The judgement came after a long drawn, bitter battle between the company and its two unions Philips Employees Union (PEU) and the Pieco |
| |Workers' Union (PWU) over the factory's sale. PEU president Kiron Mehta said, "The company's top management should now see reason. |
| | |
| |Ours is a good factory and the sale price agreed upon should be reasonable. Further how come some other company is willing to take over |
| |and hopes to run the company profitably when our own management has thrown its hands up after investing Rs.70 crores on the plant." |
| | |
| |Philips sources on the other hand refused to accept defeat. The company immediately revealed its plans to take further legal action and |
| |complete the sale at any cost.
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