Sivankutty Slams Mass Layoffs at Coro Health as Violation of Labour Law, Blames New Labour Codes

Thiruvananthapuram: CITU state secretary V Sivankutty has said the mass dismissal of around 800 employees from the Keralam offices of US-based CoroHealth was carried out under cover of the new labour codes introduced by the central government. More than 750 workers were laid off in one go. He said the central government has undermined job security by raising, through the new labour codes, the threshold requiring prior government approval for closures from 100 workers to 300 — and the CoroHealth situation is a direct outcome of this. He said so at a press conference.

He also said the manner in which workers who raised their voices against exploitation were dealt with is unacceptable. Such unilateral dismissals in violation of labour laws will not be accepted in a state like Keralam, he said. CITU will press ahead with strong agitations against anti-worker moves taking place in IT and IT-related establishments across Kozhikode, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram.

The absence of strong trade union movements in the IT and IT-related sectors, he said, is what encourages managements to take such anti-worker steps, making it essential that strong labour movements emerge in this sector.

Since the new labour codes have not yet come into force, workers have the right to fight such illegal dismissals under the existing Industrial Disputes Act. Under Chapter V-B of that Act, prior government approval is mandatory before any layoff, retrenchment or closure in establishments with 100 or more workers. The Coro Health management has dismissed workers without following this legal procedure, which is a clear violation of the law. CITU will therefore take the initiative to raise this illegal dismissal as an industrial dispute before the Labour Commissioner and labour courts, and pursue steps including the reinstatement of workers.

The previous LDF government had constituted a committee under Justice V Gopala Gowda to study the central labour codes, and this committee has already submitted its report to the government. Sivankutty demanded that the state government take urgent action based on this report and that labour department officials exercise greater vigilance. He also called on the government to act without hesitation to protect workers' interests, noting that the LDF government had taken a stand on this matter with the consent of all trade unions except the BMS.