The employees of Birla Tyres under nine labour unions launched an indefinite strike in front of Dalmia Bharat Refractories Limited’s tyre division in Balasore on Monday, demanding their reinstatement and clearance of pending salaries.
As per reports, after the closure of Birla Tyres in Balasore, Dalmia Bharat Refractories Limited acquired the unit. The existing employees were hopeful that the new company would take them in. However, the new company is allegedly employing fresh workers, ignoring the old ones. This has triggered resentment among the employees.
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Protesting this, the aggrieved employees launched an indefinite strike from today.
“When Birla Tyres went insolvent, the matter went to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). Then the company was sold off at Rs 347 crore. We thought we would be reinstated. However, the company employed some workers on a contractual basis. As of today, 350 contractual workers are working. But those who worked for 30 years have been neglected,” said an agitating worker.
Another agitating worker said, “Our demand is rehabilitation of old employees on a priority basis. Or else, we would continue our strike for an indefinite period.”
Echoing the same, another agitator said, “We hope the new government will do something for us.”
No comments were received from the company authorities.
(Reported by Chandrakant Jena)