Even though the State Government has declared the continuous lockout of Adhunik Mettaliks limted (AMl), Kuarmunda as illegal, the company management seems reluctant to resolve employees’ problems and reopen the plant.
While members of a CITU-affiliated workers’ union have been on an agitation since February 13 the day the AMl authorities locked the plant gate without taking employees into confidence, another union, the Sundargarh Shramik Sangh (SSS), has now started favouring workers.
A SSS team met Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram here demanding his immediate intervention in the issue. He was urged to take steps for reopening of the company in order to save the livelihood of 5,000 regular and contract workers’ families. Oram has assured to take early steps in this regard, sources said.
Sources said the company has to pay total dues of Rs 32.95 crore to employees and others which include regular employees’ salary of Rs 9.7 crore, contractual employees’ salary of Rs 19 crore, PF dues of Rs 2.1 crore, ESI dues of Rs 36 lakh, lIC dues of Rs 8.5 lakh and bus hire charges of Rs 1.71 crore. The Government had declared the AMl lockout as illegal on February 19.