KOZHIKODE: The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) has come forward to take charge of Common-wealth Trust (COMTRUST) Handloom Weaving Factory’s further development with a Bill to Union home ministry for President’s approval getting sanctioned. In addition to this, a payment commission was constituted to take back land sold to a private group. The factory was shut down on February 2, 2009, and since then the workers were waiting for the President’s approval for further action.
“Now the factory will be considered as a Central property and hence the state government can no longer be lax towards it”, said E.S. Satheesh, AITUC member. It was few days ago that we received the information from District administration about the Bill getting approval for which we have been waiting for more than half a decade.
“It has to be noted here that the workers here were passing through the worst situation in their life without a proper income and adding to their woes the state government had also stopped providing Rs 5,000 to the workers, that was sanctioned a year back as a compensation to the workers here. At present 105 workers are employed in the factory and are part of the protest,” he added.
It was in the year 1844, the factory was built by the German Basel Evangelical Missionaries. It was later when the British seized it from the missionaries that it was renamed Comtrust (England) from Mission Shop in the year 1919. The factory which is 169 years old was handed over to a private party, but due to repeated protests, the government decided to take charge.
