 With the union of workmen led by the militant leader Dr. Datta Samant, he struck a bargain granting increases in wages based on a promise to consistently maintain a stipulated level of production, a promise the union consistently failed to keep.On the top of this when the union demanded, in the face of declining profits, annual bonus in excess of the ceiling the law prescribed, Viren Shah declared a lockout of the factory.When the lockout was lifted, the workers went on an illegal strike and this led to the formation of a new union, followed by stable industrial relations thereafter.