Kochi: The state government will initiate legal action against US-based healthcare solutions company CorroHealth, if Friday’s high-level conciliation talks with the company officials fail to resolve the ongoing dispute over the mass layoffs at its Kerala offices.
Labour Minister Bindu Krishna said the government’s priority was to resolve the issue through dialogue, retain the company’s operations in the state and protect the jobs of the affected employees. However, she warned that the government would proceed with legal action if no settlement was reached at the meeting scheduled for July 10.
The minister said the company had failed to comply with the Labour Department’s direction to maintain the status quo until Friday, describing the move as illegal.
According to the minister, even if CorroHealth seeks to justify the retrenchment under the new Central Labour Code, the manner in which the company has proceeded is unlawful. She pointed out that an establishment employing more than 300 workers is required to notify the Labour Department before shutting down its operations.
Despite this, the minister said the government had adopted a conciliatory approach instead of immediately initiating prosecution proceedings.
“The government’s objective is to keep the establishment in Kerala and protect the livelihood of the employees through discussions,” she said.
The remarks come amid uncertainty over Friday’s meeting, as CorroHealth has so far remained non-committal despite repeated interventions by the Labour Department. It is learnt that there is uncertainty about whether the company’s senior management will attend Friday’s meeting.
The district labour department said they had so far been communicating with the company only through its local legal representative.
“Every directive we have issued so far has been passed along via their local legal counsel. We have now dispatched a formal summons for Friday’s high-level meeting at the District Collectorate, and we are taking all necessary steps to ensure their attendance,” an official said.
Meanwhile, employees were denied entry to CorroHealth’s Kochi office again on Wednesday.
Labour Department officials once again recorded the attendance of employees who reported for duty outside the office. Officials said the attendance-marking exercise would continue until Friday’s meeting, and employees reporting for work would be treated as being on duty.
The continued lockout comes despite the Labour Department’s direction, issued during a conciliation meeting on Monday, that the company maintain the status quo until the ministerial talks.
The protests received further political backing on Wednesday as the All India Youth Federation (AIYF) staged a march to the company’s Kochi office. The march was stopped by police before reaching the premises. AIYF leaders expressed solidarity with the employees and warned of intensified protests if the dispute remains unresolved.
The labour dispute began last week after CorroHealth terminated nearly 800 employees, around 600 in Kochi and about 200 in Kozhikode, triggering protests by workers.
Employees have alleged that despite the Labour Department’s intervention, the company proceeded with the retrenchment by crediting severance payments equivalent to two to three months’ salary into their bank accounts and revoking access to the company’s internal systems.
