New Delhi: The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) has urged Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar to take steps to desist industries from terminating staff amid the lockdown. It made a particular reference to a global technology firm which has fired 700 employees during the lockdown.
In a letter shot off to Santosh Gangwar, AITUC said, “…making a particular reference to ‘Fareportal India Pvt Ltd’, calls upon your urgent intervention to send out a stronger directive to the industries and commercial establishments to stop forthwith all the acts of gross illegality of terminating employees and mandate withdrawal of all termination orders. This is a travesty of natural justice in the backdrop of the lockdown declared to contain the spread of coronavirus”.
The AITUC added in the letter to Santosh Gangwar: “Several state governments have also sent out advisories on similar lines. But it is a serious cause for concern that many industries have not only defied the advisory but have also grossly violated the law with absolute impunity. AITUC has received reports that ‘Fareportal India Pvt Ltd’, a global technology company, has terminated 500 employees from its office in Gurgaon and 200 from its Pune office. It is a cruel and unfair act carried out in a total breach of the existing laws and in complete conflict with the advisory specific to the time.”” stated the letter.
The AITUC further said that it condemns the ‘illegal’ terminations and urges the government to intervene immediately to make sure that the termination orders are withdrawn.
“We also insist that not one worker, irrespective of his nature of employment such as casual, contract, temporary, trainee or apprentice should suffer loss of wages even for one day,” the AITUC added.
The AITUC said it has also written to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar requesting him to look into the matter and to enforce the rehiring of the 500 employees of Fareportal, in Gurgaon.
PTI
