Six years after shutdown, Vijayamohini mill workers stage protest over unpaid wages
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Struggling to stay afloat after years without stable income, workers of National Textile Corporation-run Vijayamohini Mill will stage a mass protest on Tuesday, March 24, marking six years since the unit was shut down.
CITU state secretary K S Sunilkumar will inaugurate the protest in front of the Thiruvananthapuram GPO on Tuesday 9am.
Vijayamohini mill, a major public sector textile unit under National Textile Corporation, had been functioning profitably before its closure on March 23, 2020. The shutdown left around 400 workers without jobs and pushed their families into prolonged financial distress. Many have since struggled to find alternative employment and continue to depend on limited and irregular sources of income.
Workers alleged that the closure was unjustified and pointed to damaging economic policies under the union government, claiming that public sector units were being weakened while private interests were being prioritised.
Their crisis has increased in recent months as wages remain unpaid for the past nine months. Even workers engaged in essential duties such as electrical maintenance, security and cleaning have not received salaries.
“Based on an agreement with the management, wages were being paid periodically. Now, workers are unpaid for the last nine months. Even workers now deployed for duties such as electrical sections, security, and sweeping are being denied wages,” said M T Antony, general secretary of the Trivandrum Textile Workers Union.
The union demanded immediate payment of pending wages and urgent steps to reopen the mill. It also called on the public to join the protest in solidarity with the workers and their families, who it said continued to bear the brunt of the prolonged shutdown.