Workers protest sudden shut down of factory

A group of employees from Shashikar Enterprises Private Limited, Peenya staged a protest in front of the Karmikara Bhavana in the city on Tuesday. They claimed that the factory was shut down with no prior notice.

The protesters alleged that they were left in the lurch after the factory shut down its Unit 2 last week, rendering them jobless.

Nandini, one of the employees said that she had been working there for over two years. The employees had staged a protest on April 11 as payment of their salaries was being delayed. Following this, they received assurances that their dues would be paid, she added.

Workers claimed that when they returned to work the following day, they were asked to sign on blank sheets of paper and asked to assure that they would not go on any protest.

"We had protested as we have house rents to pay. This is also the start of the academic year and many of us have school fees to pay. When we turned up the next day, we were told that our unit was shut and we would be paid our dues," she claimed.

Another protester added that units 3 and 4 were already shut a few months ago.

"We were told that the company is running losses and they will have to lay off 600 employees and shut down the unit. We have approached the deputy labour commissioner in this regard and raised a complaint," she said.

However, the factory manager, B T Murthy, refuted these allegations and said that there were no disgruntled employees. "All of them have come to get their pay settled. There are being given cheques as per the demands," he added