Workers of Jindal Severefield Structures Limited, a sister concern of JSW Steel, on Sunday took out a silent procession here to mark the 300th day of their strike.
The workers, under the banner of Krantikari Kamgar Union and Trade Union Centre of India (TUCI), carried the effigies of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Sajjan Jindal, Chairman and Managing Director of JSW Group, from their tent in front of the Labour Department office, and burnt them to register their protest against the latter’s failure to look into their plight and also for turning a blind eye towards the anti-labour policies adopted by JSSL.
R. Manasaiah, president of TUCI, told presspersons that JSSL had, “in a bid to curtail the rights of the workers from forming a union”, terminated some of the leaders and had also transferred a few others to other units in the country.
The strike was to demand reinstatement of retrenched employees and bringing back the transferred workers to JSSL. He also demanded holding tripartite talks over enhancing the salary and withdrawing of false cases foisted on the workers.
He accused the State government, particularly Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and District and Labour Minister Santosh Lad, of turning a blind eye to the violations of labour laws and the atrocities heaped on the workers by JSSL management.
He also charged the authorities concerned with siding with the management.
He threatened to intensify the on-going agitation by taking it to State-level if the government failed to intervene.
