A protest reportedly staged by the union demanding restoration of five temporary workers had led to heated arguments
A protest reportedly staged by the union demanding restoration of five temporary workers had led to heated arguments
A Scheduled Caste woman entrepreneur running a gas agency at Kuzhupilly near Vypeen has accused CITU activists of threatening her using caste slurs and disrupting the operations of her agency for the past three days.
The Munambam police have registered a case against 11 identifiable persons on her petition by invoking relevant provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and various Sections of the Indian Penal Code. Munambam DySP is probing the case.
A protest reportedly staged by the CITU in front of the agency demanding restoration of five temporary workers had led to heated arguments between the protesters and the petitioner on Tuesday. Minor scuffles also erupted in which the woman, her husband, and son were allegedly pushed around. A visual showing the protesters challenging the woman by reminding her about their clout as members of the ruling party had been doing the rounds on social media.
“We had hired five workers on a temporary basis when a section of customers from another agency at Nayarambalam was transferred to us on a stopgap arrangement. When the arrangement ended, we told four employees that their services would be sought when bookings increase. One of them was fired even before, following financial misappropriations. They obviously approached the CITU who demanded that their service be regularised, which I declined,” said Uma Sudheer, the agency operator.
‘Supply disrupted’
She added that the protesters were not allowing the agency to operate, thus disrupting supply. The agency has a subscriber base of around 15,000 spread across Edavanakkad, Kuzhupilly and Pallippuram panchayats. The stalemate has begun to pose problems for customers looking for gas refill.
The CITU, however, rubbished the allegations and dismissed the video circulating as doctored. They said not even a protest was staged on Tuesday, but activists had merely assembled in front of the agency for hoisting the union’s flag.
“It was the woman’s husband who had caused provocation by driving into that assembly and manhandling a State office-bearer of the union. Those five workers were fired simply because they had joined our union. A reconciliation meeting was scheduled, but the agency owner declined outright to even consider our demand for their restoration. Also, the allegation of casteist slur is a lie since the DYFI activist accused of it himself belongs to a Scheduled Caste,” said A.P. Prenil, CITU district council member.
Meanwhile, the CITU organised a protest meeting in front of the agency’s godown on Thursday evening.
