HUL in ‘record’ settlement for Kodaikanal suit

BENGALURU: Nearly 15 years after shutting down its thermometer plant in Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) has come to a financial settlement for an undisclosed sum with a group of 591 workers who had sued the company for health damage due to mercury pollution.

However, the activists involved said it was a landmark settlement and the amount was a new record for India. One activist said the amount far exceeds what the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy received. The 1984 Union Carbide gas leak victims got an out-of-court settlement of $470 million (`3,150 crore at Wednesday’s exchange rate, but closer to ` 500 crore at that time) in February 1989.

As part of the agreement, HUL has agreed to provide ex-gratia payments to the 591 former workers/association members and their families.

HUL has provided a contingent liability of ` 78.20 crore in its 2014-15 financial statement, up from ` 69.29 crore provision the year before, towards “Other matters including claims related to employees/ex-employees, property related demands, etc.“

SA Mahindra Babu, the president of the Pond’s HLL ex-Mercury Employees Welfare Association, said, “We welcome the actions taken by HUL to bring these negotiations to a satisfactory closure. We now consider this issue to be fully resolved and have no more grievance against the company in this regard.” “We have worked hard over many years to address this and find the right solution for our former workers,” said Dev Bajpai, executive director, legal and corporate affairs, HUL.