| 13 months salary pending, 138 employees expelled | | | G S Asgotra
Jammu, Aug11: Disregarding court stay, Bharat Box Factory Samba has expelled 138 employees and instead of maintaining status-quo as directed by the Court, the factory owner shut-down the unit. According to expelled employees, the BBF Industries Limited was established in 2003, manufacturing different types of paper boxes. "Suddenly one day, the management issued notice of retrenchment of 138 employees sighting financial losses", said Des Raj, an expelled employee.
"When they opposed the decision of the management they threatened us", he said, adding that when they approached Assistant Labour Commissioner (ALC), the government passed the ordered against retrenchment, on July 4, 2013.
"In the meantime, the management managed to get stay against government order", Des Raj said, and added, "The Management challenged the government order in High Court and court Jammu passed the order to maintain status- quo."
Des Raj said that instead of withholding retrenchment, the management without paying dues of employees completely shut down the unit.
Bharat Bushan, a resident of Hiranagar and employees' leaders, told that they were working for past 10 years in BBF Samba.
However, contradicting the management's stand, Bushan said that it was a well planed conspiracy to digest subsidies, excise duty and privileges being given to industrialists by the government to generate employment in the state.
He further said that the factory owner/ management work like nodal agencies in the Jammu and Kashmir state because the law was so liberal when they established the new unit in the state, as per rule they assureto provide employment to locals which remains un-fulfilled.
"Labour laws are deliberately being violated by the industrialist", said Ajay Kumar another employee, adding that as they were expelled, they formed an employee union to protect their rights, but all in vain. "For fighting against injustice we are being targeted by the other industrialists, as they are not giving us jobs in their respective units", he added.
The retrenched workers have requested to department concerned to take the appropriate action to prevent them further financial losses and get their pending salaries released immediately. " If our demands are not met, we will launch agitation against state government", he threatened. |
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