The workers? union of Nokia?s Chennai plant will move the Delhi High Court soon to implead themselves in the ongoing tax dispute case involving the Finnish telecom major and also to request the Union government not to come in the way of the deal.
The government should secure a firm commitment from Nokia-Microsoft duo in the court of law on tax recovery as well settle the issue amicably, post wrapping up of the deal, the union has said.
?The Union government is entitled to recover the tax dues as per law and the workers? union also supports the same. However, this should not be at the cost of our own survival. The Union government or the department concerned should give sometime for the companies to arrive at an amicable solution in the court of law without compromising on tax recovery. If the deal takes place without the involvement of the Chennai plant then things could go worse and our very survival will be affected. We want to be part of Microsoft and at the same time we don?t want to do any contract manufacturing,? a leader affiliated to a major trade union told the FE.
Nokia had earlier said that in case the assets were not allowed to transfer, it will seek a contract manufacturing agreement with Microsoft for a period of up to 12 months.
?We don?t believe that contract manufacturing would serve any purpose and we are also unsure about the terms and conditions of such contract by deviating from the existing system. As different views aired by different people, including that of Finland minister and Nokia officials, the workers at the Chennai plant become unrest and tempers come out open in the public,? he said further.
The union leaders are likely to meet finance minister P Chidambaram during their stay in Delhi. When contacted by FE, a Nokia spokesperson said: ?Given the upcoming Delhi High Court hearing on December 9, we will not comment further on the matter.? Nokia?s facility at Sriperembudur SEZ, near Chennai, had reported physical exports of R12,136.54 crore from 2006-2007 to 2011-2012.
In 2005, the company was allocated 210 acres of land by the government to set up the SEZ. Nokia was the first to bring electronics to India by setting up country?s first telecom SEZ in the country. In 2009-10, Nokia SEZ export was at euro 38 billion, which made the company the largest exporter. Close to 60-70% of the volume are exported to over 100 countries.
Recently, Nokia had entered into a fresh agreement with the Tamil Nadu in November 2012 for expansion of its manufacturing plant with an investment of R250 crore over a period three years.
