A top official of Unilever Nepal Limited (UNL) has said the company is making efforts to resolve the current disruption at its Hetauda plant, creating a win-win for both the management and the workers.

UNL Chairman Pradeep Banerjee told the Post by telephone from India that the company would try to resolve all the issues amicably. He, however, said he could not confirm at this stage when the factory would resume its operations.

The multinational company on August 7 declared a lockout, a temporary work stoppage, due to the strike called by the workers since July 10.

After the company announced on Tuesday that the lockout would continue—even after a reported three-point agreement reached between the two sides on Sunday—the workers are alarmed whether the company would exit Nepal. But Banarjee assured UNL has no plans to exit Nepal.

The company, however, refuted reports that the management has signed an agreement with the workers. “In fact, the company’s representative had signed the attendance register,” said a senior UNL official.

The workers have said they expect the management to end the lockout after the company’s board of directors meeting on Wednesday. But the UNL official said how could an industry operate amid strikes and under constant pressure from workers. “If Unilever closes down, it is the workers who will incur the biggest loss, not the company,” he said.

Unilever Nepal is multinational company dealing in fast moving consumer goods. The factory, established in 1993, employs 208 workers. Last fiscal year, its transactions stood at Rs4.87 billion and earned a net profit of Rs900 million.