A meeting of trade union representatives will be called soon to discuss the issues related to the reopening of the Comtrust Weaving Factory, Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan has informed the Assembly. The Minister also condemned the ongoing indefinite strike by the former employees of the factory in the State capital, saying their demands were “not practical”.
He made these statements in response to a submission raised by M.K. Muneer, Deputy Leader of the Opposition and MLA for Kozhikode South, on Wednesday. Dr. Muneer urged the government to take over the century-old factory and convert it into a heritage museum.
Mr. Jayarajan replied that efforts were in the final phase to frame rules as per Section 35 of the Commonwealth Trust, Kozhikode (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertaking) Bill, 2012, to take over the factory. Though the President of India had approved the Bill, it could not be implemented because of a High Court stay. The government could not take over the land and the factory building and hand it over to the KSIDC. There were 284 employees on the rolls when the factory was closed down in 2009. All of them except 107 people opted for voluntary retirement. They were getting a honrarium of ₹5,000. The Minister said that if the employees agreed to the VRS package prepared earlier, all the problems would be sorted out.
E.C. Satheesan, functionary of an action committee of trade unions, however, alleged that the Minister’s statement was factually incorrect and supported the interests of the land mafia which wanted to usurp the prime real estate slot in the heart of Kozhikode city.
