BENGALURU: Opposition leaders in Karnataka lambasted the Central Government over laying off around 80 workers of Bengaluru’s ITI factory, a public sector undertaking, for forming a union. The unemployed workers have been protesting for 55 days outside the factory premises.
Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah said, “It is unfortunate that voices of 80 ITI workers are being ignored even after 55 days of protest. Laying off employees by an esteemed PSU may be the result of an ongoing effort of disinvestment. The Narendra Modi government is forcing PSUs to take unethical steps to cut down expenses.”
“The ITI management should ensure that the protesting workers are reinstated and their concerns addressed,” he added. KPCC president DK Shivakumar said, “The ongoing workers strike in one of the biggest PSUs in India shows how the BJP government has ruined the sector through a series of disastrous steps.”
Rajya Sabha MP, Dr Syed Nasir Hussain, told TNIE, “How can anyone not resolve their grievances for so long?” Activist Leo Saldanha told TNIE, “It’s absolutely unbelievable that Bengaluru is now witnessing the retrenchment of ITI workers merely because they unionised and fought for their due rights. What we are staring at is enforcement of Emergency-era laws against workers’ unions.”