Trade unions CITU and INTUC have assured Larsen & Toubro (L&T) — contractor for Kochi metro rail works in the city — that work will not be disrupted due to their interference. The assurance was given during a meeting of L&T representatives and trade union leaders held on Wednesday to iron out differences between the construction company and the unions.
CITU district secretary K.N. Gopinath and president K.J. Jacob, and INTUC district president K.P. Haridas and secretary Rajappan Pillai represented the trade unions at the meeting. The CITU district committee had, on Tuesday, denied reports of Kochi metro’s piling works being delayed because of interference by trade unions. Mr. Gopinath said the construction workers’ unions affiliated to the trade unions had only demanded semi-skilled jobs at metro’s construction sites. The unions were not opposed to workers from other States being employed at the sites. But just as for most other major projects, they demanded inclusion of their construction workers in metro sites.
Workers affiliated to CITU and INTUC were working at the Ernakulam North overbridge site. The unions had not issued a strike notice to L&T, but only a routine notice inviting the firm’s attention to their demands, Mr. Gopinath had said on Tuesday. L&T had stated its willingness to accommodate workers as piling and related works progressed.
