The transportation of ilmenite from the Mineral Separation Unit (MS Unit) of the Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML) to the company’s Titanium Dioxide Pigment Unit (TP Unit) in Sankaramangalam here resumed on Thursday, with the majority of contract workers at the mining site-1 of the company withdrawing the six-month-long strike.
The strike, demanding regularisation of the contract workers at the mining site, was withdrawn following a discussion held by Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty and Labour Minister Shibu Baby John with trade union leaders the other day in Thiruvananthapuram.
Based on the decisions made during the discussion, the company has sought legal opinion about appointing the contract workers of mining site-1 - belonging to the priority category of those who had handed over their land to the company for mining - as casual employees, assistant personnel manager of the company said.
The strike had threatened to disrupt the Titanium Dioxide pigment production of the company, as at one stage it had disrupted the movement of the raw material, ilmenite, from the MS Unit to the TP Unit.
ilmenite is transported from the MS Unit in barges to the TP Unit and the striking unions had blocked the barge operations. The TP Unit had been functioning for the past few months utilising the stock ilmenite in the company. On Thursday, around 300 metric tonnes of ilmenite was transported to the TP Unit till 7 pm. The company sources said that the resuming of ilmenite movement will ensure the smooth functioning of the company.