By The Flag Post staff
November 19, 2025
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The KIADB Belur Industrial area, lies close to the NH4 on the outskirts of Dharwad, Karnataka. It’s home to many manufacturing units catering to different segments of the industry.
Guala Closures (India) Private Limited., too has been operational for more than a decade at the same premises in Belur KIADB. They’re operational in four units in different cities of the country like: Ahmedabad, Daman, Goa and Dharwad. The company produces bottle caps for different brands.
If anyone were to now visit the Belur plant in Dharwad, they will notice the 100+ employees standing, waiting and sitting in a makeshift tent. They are peacefully protesting after October 27, 2025, since the plant shut operations abruptly.
A ‘Notice of Permanent Closure’ put on its gates, with a letter addressed to ‘The President, Axiom Propack Karmikara Sangh (R)’, has been put outside stating the reasons. The workers say that the unit has been shutdown since the last 23 days, and their jobs have been terminated without serving them a notice. Lalita B, was the sole women working there for past eight years. She did the sorting and quality checking at the plant. Most of the workers there have been around since 2014, when the plant started operations. All of them have been working there for last 8, 9, 10, 12 years respectively.
They all had one demand that the plant, should resume operations and wanted their jobs back. The employees spoke about, “why only the Belur plant was closed”?, and some further added that, “it was done intentionally”. One of the employees even attempted suicide, but he was dissuaded by his fellow employees.
The protesting employees have given a letter to the Labour Dept.; Deputy Commissioner’s (DC office), Dharwad; Labour Minister (GoK) & Dharwad District Incharge Minister; and the Dharwad Lok Sabha Member of Parliament and the Union Minister. They were given assurances that their problems would be solved in the next 15 days. But it’s now been 23 days and still counting, with still no clear solution in sight.
(*Mr. Srinivas Patil, Works Manager.
We spoke to him, and he answered briefly saying “No Comments”. The factory employees said that, he’s not visited ever since the plant shut operations).
