India, July 28 -- Two young entrepreneurs in Kerala recently faced a standoff with tradunion workers, who insisted on unloading construction materials themselves despite being told that the fragile glass panels required skilled handling using proper safety equipment.

Louis Issac and Anto Raffy, of a startup called Idea House Coworking, were racing against a deadline to complete the interior works at a commercial building in Kochi. The stand-off between the entrepreneurs and the labour union began last Tuesday after toughened glass panels arrived at the construction site in a truck.

The entrepreneurs alleged that CITU (Centre of Indian Trade Unions) workers insisted that they get the right to unload the glass panels. Meanwhile, Isaac and...