It's cheers and jeers for Tata group at Teesside

Teesside, located in the north-east region of the UK, is an important part of the Tata Group's business presence abroad. It also has two contrasting tales for India's largest business group.

The fate of the Tata Steel-owned Corus' cast products plant has been hanging in the balance for the last one year, earning the wrath of workers. But 15 miles away, Tetley - that gave the Tata group its foothold in the UK in 2000 - has emerged as a champion employer.

Tetley's Eaglescliffe factory at Teesside has won two accolades from Class Awards - 'Outstanding Employer of the Year' and 'Large Employer of the Year'. The Class Awards is a North-East UK event run by the Skills Funding Agency, a government funded national organisation that assists individuals and businesses in the funding of training and skills.

A Tetley spokesperson said the factory was judged along with other prestigious large employers in the North-East region of England.

"The Learning and Development award recognised the commitment to training that the site undertakes. Upon winning the category, the factory was shortlisted into an overall employer award, which we also won. The basis of the second award was that the site at Eaglescliffe was deemed to be the outstanding employer in all the categories, committed to developing and training its workforce," the spokesperson said.

The factory is the only manufacturing site in the UK and makes products for Great Britain, Canada and numerous European countries, employing 500 people.

A different Corus

But the picture of Corus at Teesside is not as rosy and, unsurprisingly, Community - the union representing a majority of Corus employees - has a very different take on the Tata group.

Referring to the Tetley award, a spokesperson for Community said: "There would seem to be dramatic difference in management styles. Corus seems to have abandoned the 30-year partnership between employers and trade unions. Community Union would contend that the antagonistic approach towards the unions has had a detrimental effect upon the situation at Teesside. The Corus management does not appear to be effectively applying the Tata values in the UK."

The anguish stems from Corus' decision to mothball Teesside Cast Products, putting 1,700 jobs at risk, though it continues to employ around 2,500 across Teesside's other facilities. The company has, however, engaged Citi Bank to find a buyer.

Ironically, while Tetley has been lauded for its worker initiatives, Corus has drawn flak on the same count.

"The Tata management must honour their moral and social responsibilities to the community. They must ensure that the Corus management is open and honest about the situation. Ratan Tata is a business leader of honesty and integrity and that is what is needed at the moment," said Community.

Clearly, Teesside is seeing the best and worst of times.