A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday ordered that if any obstruction is caused to those employees who are willing to work in the ten branches of Muthoot Finance Limited, the police shall interfere and remove such obstructions.
The Bench headed by Justice Vinod Chandran made it clear that the order would not interfere with the right of the striking workers to peacefully carry on their protest against the management without causing any obstruction to the smooth functioning of the branches.
The order was passed on a writ petition filed by managers of the branches at Illikkal in Kottayam, Erattupetta, Kanjirappally, Athani near Nedumbassery, Vandanmedu, Pachalam in Ernakulam, Thodupuzha, Poonjar, Kattapana, and Mangatukadavu in Thodupuzha. The managers sought police protection for operating their branch offices.
Court directives
The court also directed the management to ensure that it duly participated in the conciliation meetings.
The Bench also asked the management to ensure that none other than the persons in the muster roll of a branch shall be employed in a particular branch.
The State Attorney earlier submitted that the management was not cooperating with the conciliation meetings initiated by the State authorities. This was despite the fact that the management had itself sought initiation of conciliation proceedings and the court during the hearing of the petition suggested mediation in the matter.
Petitioners’ claim
According to the petitioners, members of the Non-banking and Private Finance Employees’ Association (CITU) and the CITU State unit were preventing the petitioners from entering their offices by force.
The dispute between the trade union and the management was not a ground to deny the right of the petitioners to earn their livelihood through employment. The right to strike did not involve the right to obstruct employees willing to work. Despite lodging complaints with the police, no action had been taken to provide police protection, the petitioners contended.
