KOCHI: After a long fight spanning two decades for 54 months of pending arrears, retired employees of the Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) have finally received an assurance of resolution from Mansukh L Mandaviya, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers.
Earlier this month, the FACT Retired Employees Association had held a protest demanding immediate payment of their wage revision arrears of 54 months from January 1997 to January 30, 2001.
On Friday, Kollam MP N K Premachandran met Mandaviya to submit a petition in this regard. “The minister has assured to look into the matter and do the needful. He said the pay revision will be considered and the issue resolved promptly,” said Premachandran.
The minister also appreciated the FACT management and workers for turning the loss-making company into a profitable venture over this period, he added.
During the financial years 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21, the company posted a profit of Rs 163.14 crore, Rs 975.52 crore and Rs 250 crore, respectively. The condition put forward by the management was that it will pay the arrears when the company makes profits for three consecutive years.