Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy on Wednesday clarified that his government had no role in the closure notice issued to Anglo French Textiles.
Shortly after a delegation of legislators and trade union representatives called on the Chief Minister, he told a select group of reporters that the Cabinet decision was to introduce VRS scheme in the AFT.
But the Lt. Governor had reportedly put pressure on officials to issue closure notice as a condition for clearing pending salary for the employees, the Chief Minister said.
AFT managing director P. Priyatarshny on Tuesday had issued a notice to the Labour Secretary and Trade Union representatives seeking permission to close down the textile mill.
The closure notice was served at a time when the issue had already been referred to the MHA following differences of opinion between the Lt Governor and Cabinet on the future course of action to be adopted to revive the mills, Mr. Narayanasamy said.
AIADMK floor leader A. Anbalagan, who led the delegation, told reporters that the decision to close down the historic mill was condemnable. The party was in favour of reviving the mill, he said adding the decision to close down the textile unit under Section 25-O of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 would deprive employees much of the financial benefits.
The compensation given to the employees under the Act would only be half of the money eligible under VRS, the AIADMK leader said. Criticising the government for not placing the Vijayan Committee report, which looked into measures to revive the mill, in the Assembly, Mr. Anbalagan said a decision should have been taken only after eliciting the views of legislators. The Lt. Governor and Chief Minister are both responsible for issuing the closure notice, he charged.
