CHENNAI: Around 150 workers and trade union leaders protesting at Chowel India Pvt Ltd, an automobile part manufacturing unit in Sriperumpudur, were arrested late on Sunday night. The workers have been staging a sit-in protest since last Tuesday, condemning delayed disbursal of salaries by the management.
The arrests took place when the workers and trade union leaders got more agitated and protested on Sunday midnight, against the move of Hwasin Automotive India Private Limited, a supplier to the company, to seize the machinery for non-payment of dues towards purchase.
The protesters panicked at this, as they will have no job after the equipment is seized. The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) Kancheepuram district President S Kannan, Secretary E Muthu Kumar, along with 149 protesting workers, were arrested by the police.
A spokesperson of the company told Express that the future of the company is uncertain at this point. “We have approached our legal team to come up with a solution for both us and the workers. We can take a decision only after the discussion,” he said.
“The government should moderate this and make sure that workers are, at the least, compensated fairly,” said S Kannan.