The employees of Mangalore-based KIOCL (formerly known as Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd) held a day-long demonstration before the office of Deputy Commissioner on Monday demanding allocation of captive mines to boost the company’s revenue which has gone down.
The protest was held under the banner of the Kudremukh Shram Shakti Sanghatan. “The State Government has denied our company the rightful allotment of captive mines that has severely affected company’s revenue. The company was asking employees to take voluntary retirement,” said general secretary of the Saghatan S. Venkatraya, an employee for more than three decades. Its mining operations came to a halt following judgement of Supreme Court in January 2006, he said.
A. Rajaguru, assistant general secretary of the Saghatan, said as many as 1,200 employees were working in KIOCL units in Mangalore and Kudremukh. “Voluntary retirement is being offered to employees aged around 30 and 40 years,” he said.
