Unions seek Miniratna status for FACT, full-time CMD to improve performance

Trade unions at the public sector Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) have appealed to the Union government to confer the company with the Miniratna status and appoint a full-time chairman and managing director (CMD) to shore up its performance. Miniratna status for FACT, said to be under the consideration of the Ministry of Fertilisers, will bolster the hands of the management, whose decisions will carry more weightage.

N.K. Premachandran, MP and president of FACT Employees’ Organisation, said one of the key demands that the trade unions were raising was the appointment of a full-time CMD for the company. Kishor Rungta, the last full-time CMD, retired in March this year. A full-time CMD would improve the confidence of workers and help the management take timely decisions, he said..

Mr. Premachandran said there had been consistent demand for conferring Miniratna status on FACT considering its performance. The company has been in profit over the past three years and has positive net worth. The company management has been appealing to the ministry for the Miniratna status for over a year now.

One of the factors that will affect the financial results of FACT during the current fiscal is the stoppage of caprolactam production around four months ago. The production was stopped largely because it was financially not feasible to run the plant with natural gas costing more than $12 a unit, while FACT rivals receive supplies at much lower rates. Mr. Premachandran said reduced cost of natural gas could help FACT substantially improve its financial performance.

He added that for FACT to return to its old glory, a full-time CMD was a must. The government should immediately appoint a CMD, who will be able to take over the reins of the company.  FACT is also at the receiving end of the fertiliser subsidy regime. If subsidies could be reworked, it would be of great benefit to the company, he added.

Addressing trade unions at a reception accorded to him on Tuesday, Mr. Premachandran alleged that the Provident Fund Organisation had turned into an anti-worker establishment. The fixing of pension pro-rata was in contravention of the Act passed by Parliament and the Supreme Court verdict of November 2022, said a release citing Mr. Premachandran.