Protest in Thane as Supermax workers demand pending wages

Approximately 500 workers of Supermax Personal Care Private Limited staged a protest outside Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s residence on Thursday, pressing for their overdue wages and compensation

Thane: Approximately 500 workers of Supermax Personal Care Private Limited staged a protest outside Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s residence on Thursday, pressing for their overdue wages and compensation. The workers, affected since the abrupt shutdown of the Thane unit two-and-a-half years ago, claim they have not received salaries since.

Thane, India - June ,13, 2024: Around 500 workers of the defunct Super Max Personal Care Pvt Ltd thane are on protest outside Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's residence in Thane, After the closure of the company, since the money of the workers is due, the agitation is going on to demand that the company should give it to the workers The workers are demanding that the Chief Minister should intervene , in Thane ,in Mumbai, India, on, Thursday, June,13, 2024. ( Praful Gangurde / HT Photo )

Shinde addressed the protestors, who have worked with the company for 30 years, said he met the company’s management, assuring them of a resolution in two-three days, and promised to meet them soon. Thursday’s protest was not the first since the workers were allegedly sacked illegally.

The shutdown in Thane, where the company specialized in manufacturing shaving blades for over 70 years, occurred without prior notice to employees, who subsequently found themselves locked out of the premises. Subhash Shinde, 53, a former employee, said, “Despite promises of compensation during a temporary shutdown in December 2021, we were left in the lurch as the company progressively closed its operations, leaving many without wages and benefits.”

The workers, represented by their union, assert that Supermax owes them ₹35 crore, encompassing unpaid wages, gratuity, ex-gratia payments, bonus arrears, and pending salaries. Vasant Sanrang, 45, highlighted the plight of older workers, “Over 250 employees aged 40 and above are unable to find new jobs due to age discrimination, compounding their financial struggles aggravated by the company’s failure to settle dues.”

Efforts to contact the management for comment were unsuccessful.

One year ago, the workers’ union of Supermax Personal Care Private Limited sought legal recourse as the company failed to meet wage obligations, prompting intervention by the labour court. Despite a court order mandating payment within 10 days, the company cited financial constraints, exploring the sale of Hyderabad property to settle dues. This move triggered additional legal actions from the national labour union. Originally acquired for approximately 3.7 billion dollars by Rocky Malhotra and Actis, the company initially thrived under the rebranding but faced a stark decline in production, halving from 1200 billion to 600 billion units by 2022. Efforts to reverse this trend proved futile, culminating in widespread layoffs starting October 2022.