Coimbatore: Over 100 workers of Pricol limited petitioned to the Coimbatore District Collector, urging to implement the court order to re-employ all employees who were dismissed by the management.
Coimbatore: Over 100 workers of Pricol limited petitioned to the Coimbatore District Collector, urging to implement the court order to re-employ all employees who were dismissed by the management.
The workers stated in their petition that in 2018, 282 workers from Periyanaickenpalayam unit of Pricol limited were transferred to various states including Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh, following a series of strikes demanding pay hike and bonus.
On 29.11.2018, a conciliation talk was initiated before the Special Joint Commissioner of Labour, Chennai headed by Special Joint Commissioner of Labour. An amicable solution was reached between the management and the workers in which the management ensured to take no action against any worker for participating in the strike, the workers pointed in their petition.
However, after resumption of work, the workers were in shock as the management transferred 302 workers to Sricity-Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttarkand. The workers were then informed that in view of the management suffering losses due to strike, it was constrained to transfer the workers for better man power utilization. According to the Management, instead of retrenching the workers, they had provided alternative work to them to safeguard their interest by merely transferring to their other plants in the above mentioned three places, they said.
Since then several demonstrations and protests have been held against the orders of transfer dated 1.12.2018. Both, the workers and the Union have also approached the District Collector in order to find an amicable solution to the ongoing tussle between the Union and the Management. Following which the union sought the Chennai high court against the en-masse transfer.
The workers alleged that when the dispute regarding en masse transfer was pending conciliation, the Pricol management passed orders on 11.02.2019, dismissing 294 workmen. According to the Union, such dismissal of workmen is in violation of 33(1)(B) of I.D.Act. Since the action initiated by the management was directly in issue with the dispute raised by the Union and is imperative and mandatory that the management has to take prior permission from the authority concerned before giving effect to the orders under challenge.
Highlighting a series of allegations by the Pricol management and the court order to re-employ all the dismissed employees, more than 200 workers thronged the Coimbatore district collector's office today, alleging that the Pricol management was delaying the implementation of the court order.
They urged the District Collector to take immediate action to re-employ all 282 workers as ordered by the court. The workers also demanded action against the Pricol management for flouting the court order.