The three-month old lockout at Apollo Tyres's [Get Quote] unit at nearby Kalamassery has been lifted and the factory will start functioning from Friday.

The unit will start production from Friday morning, company sources told PTI in Kochi.

The decision to withdraw the lockout was taken on Wednesday at a meeting convened by Labour minister P K Gurudasan, Company management and union leaders at Thiruvananthapuram.

There are 1,100 permanent employees in the unit and at least 300 contract workers.

The unit was under lockout since December 6, 2008 when the management was forced to take the step due to a lightning strike in some parts of the plant, obstruction to the dispatch of finished products, blocking and threatening of management staff by workers, management sources said.

The 12 items being put forward by the management as essential for survival of the plant include meeting conditions of long term settlement agreed upon in 2007, full capacity utilisation, modernisation and upgradation of products and equipment.

In the majority of these points, the unions have agreed to accept the management's view, the sources said.