The Tannery and Footwear Corporation (TAFCO) has been finally closed down with the loss of 500 workers. The district administration has locked the factory gate and deployed police at the factory to break up any unrest among the workers.
The final decision to close TAFCO was taken in April this year, although the corporation had been in trouble since 1992. Around 1,000 workers had already accepted voluntary redundancy. However, the remaining 500, many of whom had not been paid since September 2000, had hoped that the government would keep the factory open. The corporation said that these workers would be paid all their pending dues along with reasonable compensation.
