<p></p><p>A private-run cashew factory at Maranadu on the district’s outskirts is a grim pointer to the slump that has hit the once thriving industry.As the industry faces the double whammy of stiff international competition and domestic challenges such as shortage of labour, rising input costs etc, most entrepreneurs in the sector are introducing mechanisation to improve productivity. <br></p> <p>And it was the decision to go in for mechanisation at her factory in April that proved costly for N Sheela, a second generation cashew processor of Maranadu-based Swathy Exports. Although, majority of the unions concurred with the cashew processors that mechanisation was the way forward to save the industry, since June 20 they had stayed away from work accusing the firm of retrenchment. Despite Sheela’s affidavit before the Labour Commissioner that there would not be any job losses, the factory remained shut for more than 150 days now. <br></p> <p>The flash strike resulted in 12.5 metric tonnes of processed cashew along with 80 tonnes of raw cashew, together worth `2.5 crore getting stuck inside the factory. And the militant nature of the strike meant that the factory remained inaccessible to the management. Even after Sheela approached the High Court seeking protection in removing the perishable goods from the premises and even managed to secure a favourable court order in this regard, she could not enter the factory due to stiff resistance from the striking unions. <br></p> <p>At last the court appointed a lawyer Sabu George as Commission to ensure that the factory owner received police protection to enter the factory and transfer the cashew consignment held there. Under the watch of assistant Food Safety Commissioner K Ajit Kumar, worm-infested processed cashew weighing 12,500 kg, which was the result of 15 days’ toil at the factory, was destroyed. Cashew kernel is a perishable good and if it is not packed in tins within 12 days, the quality deteriorates. As the fungus could affect the entire premises, the raw cashew stored there was shifted to another factory owned by Sheela. <br></p> <p>The company management told the Commission that the labour issues would be resolved based on the IRC contract in the presence of the District Labour Officer and the factory can be made operational by January 4 after completing the fumigation procedures. <br></p> <p>But the troubles for Sheela and most of the workers, who kept off the strike, were far from over. The unions, though, are yet to recognise the dismissal of 39 workers, who had participated in the strike. “A prominent INTUC leader is holding a personal grudge against us in the name of workers,” said Sheela. As the stand-off could not be resolved with the mediation of the Labour Commissioner the matter is now before a labour court.<br></p><p></p>