The Hindu Business Line : 97 pc workers subscribe for shares in Kanan Devan

SETTING the tone for what is likely to be the formation of the biggest participatory management company in the world, 97.16 per cent of the total workforce of Kanan Devan Hill Produce Company Ltd have subscribed to the company's maiden share issue, exclusively targeted at its employees.

"While 12,441 of the total workforce of 12,770 have subscribed to the issue, one hundred per cent of the management staff have subscribed to it, revealing the inherent strength and confidence of all the employees in the new company," Mr T. V. Alexander, Managing Director of the company, told Business Line. The new company was formed after Tata Tea handed over management control of 55,529 acres of tea plantations in South India to the staff and workers. The workers' contribution will constitute 74 per cent of the paid-up equity in the company and of the remaining equity, 19 per cent will be subscribed by Tata Tea, and 7 per cent by a trust constituted for the purpose. Surpassing expectations, the issue that closed on May 24 mobilised Rs 9.04 crore against a target of Rs 8 crore, Mr Alexander said.

"Since I am the only earning member in the family, I could mobilise only sufficient money to buy 300 shares for Rs 3,000. Even for this, the company has extended an advance, which I can repay in easy instalments. But there are several other workers who have mobilised money independently and bought shares for Rs 10,000," said Mr Vellathurai, a worker.

Mr S. Gurudas, one of the field staff, managed to mobilise Rs 20,000 to subscribe to 2,000 shares. "I subscribed to 10 shares in Tata Tea in 1985 at a total cost of Rs 100, when the company offered shares to its workers. The returns have been quite good with handsome dividends and an occasional bonus issue. Now, the prices are quoting around Rs 550 and I have 31 shares through bonus offers. I am equally bullish about the new company and invested as much as I could in the new venture," he said.

Echoing the upbeat mood in the company, Mr C. A. Kurian, a trade union leader with AITUC, said: "The cost of production for the company has come down through a reduction in maintenance and office overheads, and a good number of workers had opted for VRS. Production has also been looking up during the last couple of months, partly due to good weather. It has been an auspicious beginning for the new company."

Going by the dismal future confronting tea plantations in the country , Mr Kurian said the future of the workers in Kanan Devan Hill Produce Company seems relatively assured. He said representatives from Tripura, Assam, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala would congregate at Coimbatore on July 3 for a one-day seminar to discuss the plight of tea plantations in India.

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