‘Declare factory lockout illegal’

Members of the Regency Ceramics Officers and Workers Union on Thursday urged chief minister N Rangasamy to declare the lock out of the Regency Ceramics factory as illegal and order its re-opening immediately of it. In a representation to CM, the union said the declaration of lock out was unwarranted and was also prohibitive under the Industrial Disputes Act.

The delegation met the CM and urged him to intervene.  Pointing that there were about 3000 families, who were dependent upon the factory, had been left without any work, the leaders said the welfare of the labourers of the company should be of paramount concern to the government.

The leaders said the Regency Ceramics and Regma factory, an ancillary unit, were under illegal lock out following “unfortunate events” which were the fall out of the coercive, oppressive and unfair labour practises by the management.

They pointed out that except for damage to some vehicles parked in the compound, all the machinery in the factory was intact. So far the labour department had not inspected the factory premises and assessed the damages, the leaders added.The representation also alleged that the police had not investigated any of the cases and the statement of any of the witnesses had not been recorded even after five months.

No charge sheet has been filed in any of the cases including the deaths of regency ceramics director Chandrasekhar and trade union leader M Murali Mohan, they said.

“In such an uncertain and ambiguous scenario,  it is highly difficult for the police to implicate the workers for any of the crimes. Hence, there is no difficulty for the management to start the work for which the workers are wiling”. The leaders, charged that the management had already resorted to shifting the machinery clandestinely.

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