Workers at vegetable markets go on strike

March 18, 2013 09:59 am | Updated 09:59 am IST - COIMBATORE:

Load men staging a protest in the wholesale market in Mettupalayam on Sunday demanding increase in wages. Photo: Special Arrangement

Load men staging a protest in the wholesale market in Mettupalayam on Sunday demanding increase in wages. Photo: Special Arrangement

Loading and unloading operations at wholesale vegetable markets in Mettupalayam suffered after the workers went on a strike on Sunday morning.

According to sources, around 2,000 workers refused to unload potatoes at ‘mundys’ on Nellithurai Road, Gandhi Maidan, Old Municipality Office Road, Thiru Subramanya Kovil Street and a few other places.

The markets see traders bring potatoes from the Nilgris and Karnataka on a daily basis. The workers unload these from the lorries and take them to ‘mundys’ and from there to the buyers who purchase them for further sales.

These workers entered into an agreement with the ‘mundy’ owners on January 14, 2010 for a period of three years, till January 13, 2013. At the end of the agreement period, the workers demanded that they be given Rs. 12 a load. The ‘mundy’ owners did not agree and this resulted in a stalemate.

The sources said that the Mettupalayam Police intervened to ask the agitating workers to negotiate with the ‘mundy’ owners and continue the loading and unloading operation until a decision was arrived at.

As it was decided to hold the wage talks on Wednesday, the strike was called off late in the evening.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.