Suzlon seeks a week's time to resolve Padubidri unit row

In a high level meeting, chaired by Kaup MLA Vinay Kumar Sorake, the Suzlon Company Energy Limited in Padubidri has sought a week's time to take an appropriate decision on lifting the lockout and re-appointing the workers who were displaced.

It can be recalled that more than 600 workers were displaced owing to the Company's decision announcing the lockout. The Company's decision to stop functioning was indeed a shock to the employees as they were kept in dark. The early morning notice, that was put up on the premises at around 3 am on Nov 14, announced the decision on shutdown.

There was a meeting held comprising the Company officials including the Director (Operations) A U Aslani and Gneral Manager (Operations) Ashok Kumar Shetty and Suzlon plant head Dakshinamurthy.

The earlier two rounds of meeting ended abruptly as the Company was in no mood to relent to the demands of the workers.

However, in the third meeting, which was also attended by Sorake and other Congress leaders, the Suzlon officials have assured to raise the issue at the Board of Directors meeting and sort out the problem in a week. The meeting went up to six hours.

Apart from the reappointment and resumption of the plant, the labourers demanded that the cases registered against 19 workers by the Company be withdrawn.

Sorake told the media persons that the Company during the meeting has assured to take an appropriate decision on the withdrawal of the lockout and reappoint the workers.

The meeting was internally held and the media was not allowed to be part of the deliberations.