THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government will take all steps necessary to end the impasse at Synthite Industries, but the stand adopted by the company management also needs correction, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed the Assembly on Monday.
''No management should have adopted such a stance in modern times,'' he said, replying to an adjournment motion moved by the Opposition on the labour dispute. The transfers made by the management were revenge against the formation of the CITU-backed trade union. The existing union in the company, in reality, was more of an ''association'' than a full-fledged union promoted by a central trade union. ''Trade unions are formed not to destroy an industry but to protect workers' interests,'' Pinarayi Vijayan said.
Calling Industries Minister A C Moideen's stand on the issue ''unfortunate,'' Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala demanded the Chief Minister's intervention to end the shutdown. Such issues should be nipped in the bud, he said, adding that the Opposition was opting against a walk-out on the issue. The state and the Assembly should not send across a wrong message to potential investors, Chennithala said.
Under the LDF government, net losses of PSUs have shot up from Rs 2568.01 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 4459.64 crore. Only three industries have logged profits, but that owes more to fluctuations in the international market, Chennithala said.
V P Sajeendran MLA had moved the adjournment motion, alleging that the CITU union was being aided by the police in preventing workers from entering the company. The Kerala Investment Promotion and Facilitation Act introduced by the LDF government to promote ease of doing business was irrelevant, he said. A C Moideen accused the company management of being stubborn. The management had gone against the agreement reached at the meeting convened by the Labour Commissioner.
''At one point, they even asked why form a new union when they already have one. That is not practical in Kerala,'' Moideen said, adding that the government's stand was that the company should be reopened. The dispute, he added, will not affect the industrial climate of the state, he added.