Employees of the now defunct Comtrust Weaving Factory have alleged that the management is trying to sell the factory building located near Mananchira in the heart of the city.
E.C. Satheesan, convener of the action committee of factory workers, alleged that efforts were on to sell the assets of the factory worth hundreds of crores. The factory management and a private company, which had bought a portion of the land where the factory is located, were complicit in this. In a letter to District Collector U.V. Jose, the action committee pointed out that the District Industrial Disputes Tribunal’s order on March 31 to reopen the factory was yet to be implemented and the dues of employees had not been settled.
He claimed that the management would have to settle the dues of 107 employees, who were on the rolls when the company was closed down.
“The company owes the employees over ₹14 crore in salary and other benefits for the period between February 1, 2009, when the factory was closed down, and March 31, 2017, when the tribunal passed its order,” he said.
The tribunal had made it clear that the assets of the company had a bearing on the dues of the employees and the order was binding on the private company too though it took possession of the land when the case was going on in the tribunal.
Mr. Satheesan, however, alleged that the private company and the Comtrust management were fabricating records to sell the property. He urged the District Collector to attach the assets of the factory till the dues of the employees were paid in accordance with the tribunal order.
