Closure of three private beedi rolling units indefinitely has rendered about 2000 daily wage earners jobless here, said CITU district secretary Velmurugan on Sunday.
In a complaint submitted to the Collector Arun Sundar Dayalan, he said the three units situated in parts of Alangulam here employed about 2000 workers. Municipal authorities and a few others inspected the premises and nearby areas of beedi rolling units last week.
They ordered closure of the beedi rolling units without assigning any valid reason or issuing notice. When the issue was taken up with the authorities, they said that some of the factories had not followed norms in COVID-19 management. As a result, there was widespread disease in the vicinity. The officials have ordered closure to contain and prevent further spread of the infection. Disinfectant activities have been going on in the area, they responded.
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When the labourers asked the firms to disburse their wages due to them in July, they have been getting no response. The firms claimed that since all registers were inside the locked premises, disbursal of wages may not be possible. Mr. Velmurugan urged the Collector to intervene and take steps to release the wages immediately.