KOCHI: The CITU-backed agitation at Synthite Industries Ltd at Kadayiruppu near Kolencherry in Ernakulam district took a violent turn on the second consecutive day on Monday with workers affiliated to the trade union blocking over 400 employees who reported for duty. The district administration which stepped in later in the day directed the police to provide protection to the company as ordered by the court.
The intervention by district collector Muhammed Y. Safirulla followed a complaint by the company that the police did not stop the protesting employees from physically assaulting the staff who reported for duty. Company officials said CITU workers and "the goons they had hired" physically assaulted the staff but the police did nothing to stop the violence. "The CCTV visuals are a proof of the violence and the police inaction," the officials said. Later the protesting staff squatted in front of the gate of the company. The Tahsildar later arrived at the spot but the company did not function during the day.
During the conciliatory talks, Mr Safirulla asked all the 18 transferred employees to report at the respective units to take up work. ‘ The simmering unrest was triggered when the company transferred 18 employees from the Kadayirupp unit to units outside the state earlier this year. The latest strike has erupted in breach of an agreement reached after a 37-day long strike at the firm a few weeks ago.
The incidents started with a section of workers affiliated to the CITU "unleashing a reign of terror in the company from Saturday midnight by calling a lightning strike without the mandatory 15-day notice," the company said in a release.
"The pro-strike union activists assaulted the workers and other staff members who reached the company for attending the night shift on the day." Meanwhile, the State Labour Commissioner has convened conciliatory talks between unions and management on June 7 in Thiruvananthapuram to end the stalemate. This follows the failure of the talks convened by the district collector on Monday. The district collector ordered enforcement of law and order in the area.
