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INDIA
Indian Tyre Retreading Association (ITRA) Registered
Retreader’s Staff Object to Relocation
India’s retreading industry is estimated to be worth more than US$ 1 billion (INR 5,000 crore annually) with roughly 20,000 retreaders scattered in the organised and unorganised sector. Despite its
Act,” informed Sanghi.
The association will be headed by a board consisting of a Chairman, three Vice-Chairmen (one each from retreading, machinery & allied, and the tread rubber industr y) with five
Tyre Retreading Shop, a retreader established in 1995 in Hanamkonda, has been issued with an order to relocate to allow the development of its local area.
The relocation is being enforced by the local authority who have alternate plans for developing the site, and they have been moving occupants off the land in anticipation of their latest development.
The authorities want to move TRS from Hanamkonda to K arimnagar, but staff and local politicians have dug their heels in and are objecting.
The shop was set up to retread tyres with 120 workers. It is meant to serve the needs of RTC depots
in Warangal, Khammam and Nalgonda regions.
The TRS’s current staff strength has now been reduced to 48 owing to retirements and non-recruitment of staff due to the uncertainty facing the business. On average, 1,450 to 1,500 tyres are being retreaded at the plant in a month as against the target of 1,600 tyres per month. On January 19, 2017, RTC’s Deputy Chief Personnel Manager
many of them have settled here. On the other hand, the product efficiency level (PEL) of the unit is very good at 90 per cent, and the unit has won awards for being the best tyre retreading shop locally,’ said the JAC convener M Suresh. The RTC authorities have stopped supplying raw materials and tyres from Hyderabad depots for retreading at the site. They now plan to shift the workers to a tyre retreading shop in K arimnagar where there are currently only 17 workers.
“The authorities should merge the K arimnagar unit in TRS Warangal instead of displacing 48 workers here and also make efforts to make the unit here viable”, Suresh suggested.
Warangal is centrally located, and it would be easier for depots in Khammam and Nalgonda regions in terms of availing the finished product, argued the JAC leaders B Bhasker, S Kumaraswamy and P Nageshwar Rao.
“We have made representations to the Assembly Speaker, Deputy CM, Transport Minister, TSRTC Chairman and its MD, MLAs and
The meeting of the new Indian Tyre Retreading Association in Mumbai
sheer size in terms of value and volumes, there have historically been no serious efforts made to form a pan Indian retreading industry body that speaks on behalf of the industry in an era when it has become increasingly fashionable to show concern about the environment without making any serious efforts to improve it.
With the changing times, a small number of stakeholders took the initiative and met on 13th January 2017 at Googli Hall of Mumbai Cricket Association Recreation Centre in Mumbai to form a retreading association.
“We need an industry association to build awareness among policy makers of the vital role played by the industry in recycling as well as in facilitating and co-operating on matters affecting the industr y,” said Karun Sanghi, MD, Tyresoles India Pvt Ltd. Sanghi hosted the conclave and chaired the inaugural discussion to form the representative body attended by around 35 retreaders, tread makers, equipment manufacturers and suppliers. Three names were shortlisted for the association – Indian Retreading Association, Indian Tyre Retreading Association and Tyre Retreading Association of India.
“The name ‘Indian Tyre Retreading Association’ has been finally approved by the Government of India, Ministr y of Corporate Affairs. We have already started the process of the formation of the association under Section 8 of the Company’s
directors (three retreaders, one machiner y & allied, and one tread rubber) of which one will be a Finance Director. Executive director will be a paid post with no voting rights. The board meetings will be held a minimum of twice in a year, but the idea is to have a minimum four meeting annually. The Board will be functional for 3 years, after which it will be dissolved and new members will be appointed / elected.
It has been mandator y for a member to pay various taxes levied by the government. The objective is to have members with credible credentials and operating as responsible organisations as per government regulations and not as fly-by-night operators. The members must be related to the tyre retreading industr y and hold various and minimum INR 500,000 VAT/Service Tax paid in previous year.
Four categories of memberships are being offered - Patron Member (renewal once after ever y 10 years) – Fees of INR 500,000 onetime + INR 50,000 yearly. The second categor y is Life Member (renewal once after every 10 years) - Fees of INR.300,000 onetime + INR 25,000/- annually, while an
Ordinar y Member has to renew membership for INR 6,000 yearly. Affiliate overseas Member is also offered for US$ 250 annually with no voting rights.
sent a letter to the Assistant Mechanical Engineer (Tyres) in Warangal proposing not to operate the TRS Warangal depot with effect from April 1, 2017.
He suggested accommodating the workers in other units of the corporation. The reasons behind the move were stated to be that, “manpower has become idle in view of the fall in demand for retreading of tyres and the retreading shop has become financially unviable.”
This resulted in the creation of the TRS Warangal Joint Action Committee, which started protests contesting the decision to close the unit and found fault with the reasons stated for its closure.
“This is a unilateral decision and put workers to severe hardships as
TRS staff protest against relocation
MLAs including the local municipal councillor seeking to stop the closure of the TRS Warangal, and still there is no positive response from the RTC authorities,” they complained. “Instead of setting new industries here the government is shifting existing ones to other places” lamented BC-JAC state chairman Tirunahari Sheshu.
“It has been discovered that the TRS bosses planned to lease 4.5 acres of TRS land worth several crores of rupees to private individuals, and such a move would seriously be opposed,’ he cautioned.
Source: The Han, India
56 Retreading Business