By P. Sreekumaran
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala has, of late, been witnessing a highly disturbing trend: mass retrenchment of workers without prior notice.
Two instances have come to light so far. In the first case, a US-based technology company has shut down its offices in Kochi and Kozhikode, rendering nearly 800 people jobless without any prior notice. Around 600 employees of CorroHealth Infotech Private Limited, a firm providing health care analytics and technology-driven solutions to hospitals and health care systems, who reported for duty at their Palarivattom office in Ernakulam district, were shocked to be told that they had been terminated with immediate effect.
The mass lay-offs were witnessed in CorroHealth’s Kozhikode branch as well, where 200 employees received “separation and full and final settlement” letter in their mails!
Employees registered their protests and alerted Trikkakkara MLA Uma Thomas, who alerted the district labor officer and Labour Minister Bindu Krishna.
The employees were told that the company was shutting down its Kochi and Kozhikode offices because of a drop in work volume and that they had been terminated. There was no prior notice. Even the manager was unaware of the decision. According to an employee, the company’s contention about reduced work volume was wrong since it is hiring workers at its other centres in India, including Uttar Pradesh. They said the real reason for the lay-offs is that the firm wanted to shift its operations in Kerala. Though the company has expressed their willingness to pay compensation, they employees want to retain their jobs.
A section of the employees, however, said heir strong opposition to the violation of labour laws could be the real reason behind the company’s move. Some employees went to the extent of taking up the labour law violations and their rightful dues, including overtime pay with the authorities. The employees also refused to be exploited through holiday work, too. The shifting of its operations outside Kerala to other States could be attributed to the company’s belief that anti-labour practices could be enforced more freely in other States!
For instance, through the work schedule is between 9 a.m. and 6 a.m., the company compelled the employees to stay in the office till 9 p.m. quite often. Most of them were forced to work for 12 hours. When the employees took up the matter with the Labour Department six months ago, the department had warned the company against violating the rules. However, after three months, things were back to square one.
The “separation letter” attributed the abrupt termination to a “workforce restructuring exercise due to a sustained downturn in the company’s HCC Vertical and the resulting reduction in operational requirements.” The letter also said the employees will have no access to company e-mails and servers, cease to be eligible for employee-related benefits and be barred from entering company remises or contacting clients, consultants, agents and suppliers.
Following the intervention of the Labour Department, the employees were allowed to enter the offices for a few more days. But that was all. After an online meeting with the Labour Minister, the company shut down its offices and the officers did the vanishing trick!
Meanwhile, the Centre for Trade Unions in India(CITU) and former Labour Minister V. Sivankutty have strongly condemned the mass retrenchment and warned the US company, which they alleged was using the Union Government’s new labour code to undermine the workers’ rights. Sivankutty has hinted at a strong agitation against such unfair labour practices in IT and IT-related service companies in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. He also said that since the new labour codes have not been implemented in Kerala, the employees enjoyed protection under the Industrial Disputes Act, 2947.
The former minister also vowed to explore all legal avenues, including raising the matter as an industrial dispute with the Labour Commissioner and labour courts. He also urged the UDF Government to immediately act on the recommendations of the exert committee headed by former Supreme Court judge V. Gopala Gowda, which studied the implications of the labour code.
In another instance, the Kochi-based ecosystem development company Talrop has shut down 21 companies across the State, leaving 300 employees with salary arrears ranging from 4 to 11 months!
The Opposition has blamed the State Government for its failure to effectively intervene and arrest the disturbing trend.
The shocked employees staged a protest following Talrop’s public announcement of its shutdown on its Instagram handle. According to the post, “after more than a decade of building our ecosystem, we have made the strategic decision to completely shut down our Rs 250-crore ecosystem company.” The company attributed the closure to the advent of artificial intelligence(AI), stating that it was not built for the AI era!
The employees have lodged complaints with labour offices in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kannur against the non-payment of salaries.
Needless to say, the disturbing trend needs to be fought with all the force at the Government’s command. The UDF Government is on test. It is time to show its commitment to the welfare of the working class. It can depend fully on the support of the Left Democratic Front and the major trade unions. Will the Satheesan –led Government rise to the occasion? That is the million dollar question. (IPA Service)
