CorroHealth has agreed to pay five months’ gross salary to nearly 800 employees terminated from its Kochi and Kozhikode offices earlier this month following a meeting convened by the Kerala government on Monday. According to Labour Minister Bindu Krishna, the meeting, attended by MLA Uma Thomas and senior Labour Department officials, was fruitful, with the company agreeing to pay the terminated employees by July 26.
Speaking to the media, Bindu Krishna said, “I was initially alerted by Uma Thomas MLA about the issue. Labour Department officials then got involved and have been conducting several meetings. The government has been involved at every step to address each employee’s grievances,” the minister said.
“Several meetings were held, including those involving the Special Secretary and the Labour Commissioner. Every official in the Labour Department was aware of and actively involved in the matter. A ministerial-level meeting was held on July 10, and another was convened on Monday,” the minister said.
“During today’s meeting, the company initially said it could relocate around 12 per cent of the employees to its other centres. The government asked the company to increase that number. However, the employees pointed out that relocation would still not guarantee job security and that they could be terminated at any time.
“Following further discussions, the company agreed to pay an additional five months’ gross salary, over and above the salary already paid, by Sunday.
The company has also assured the seamless transfer of employees to new organisations by providing experience certificates, relieving letters without any adverse remarks, and all other relevant documents. It has further assured smooth background verification to ensure employees do not face any difficulties in securing employment elsewhere,” the minister added.
CorroHealth terminated nearly 800 employees from its Kochi and Kozhikode offices earlier this month, triggering protests by the affected workers. The Labour Department subsequently intervened, and both sides agreed to maintain the status quo pending further discussions. However, the company later informed the government that it would not attend the meeting originally scheduled and requested that it be postponed. Following the development, Labour Minister Bindu Krishna convened a fresh meeting with the company’s senior management on Monday.
Employees also alleged that, after announcing the layoffs, the company credited two to three months’ salary into their bank accounts on the same night, despite the matter being under conciliation before the Labour Department.
CorroHealth has reportedly defended the retrenchment by citing provisions of the new Central Labour Code relating to fixed-term employment. However, the Kerala government rejected the company’s stand, stating that the new Labour Code has not yet been implemented in the state and therefore cannot override the existing labour laws and protections.
