Chennai Metro Rail Workers Continue to be Victimised by Management

The Chennai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (CMRL) has continued the victimisation of its workers even after a month has gone by since their strike. The two-day strike of the permanent workers of the CMRL was called off on May 1, after being assured by the management that their demands will be considered and no actions of victimisation will be initiated by the management.

Even now the dismissal of eight office bearers of the union has not been looked into by the management. The management had earlier instructed the dismissed workers to submit a request to the Managing Director of the CMRL to reconsider their order. Now, they have been instructed to vacate the quarters allocated to them.

In the aftermath of the strike, nine more workers have been suspended by the management. Along with a station controller, three more workers have been suspended citing sabotage while there is no mention of the same in the charge sheet. The charge sheet has accused them of abandoning duty during the two-day strike. Another five workers have been suspended, but the reasons for suspension are yet to be disclosed to the workers.

Also read: Chennai Metro Rail Workers Demand Reinstatement of Dismissed Employees

The permanent workers were forced to strike work as the management decided to outsource several services at an exorbitantly high cost and cut down the allowances for the workers. The workers had staged a sit-in protest at the CMRL head office and were made to wait for hours in vain to meet the Managing Director. Finally, the dismissed workers were instructed to submit a request to withdraw their dismissal. The strike was called off on the management’s assurances.

Elango, Vice President of the CMRL Workers’ Union affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) told NewsClick, “The management is continuing to victimise the workers for participating in the strike. This is against the spirit of the assurances given by the management on the day the strike was called off. We believe that an amicable solution will be arrived at once the case filed by the dismissed workers comes is heard in the Madras High Court on the 6th of next month. The reconciliation meeting is also scheduled for 10th. We are hopeful that the rights of the employees are upheld”.

But now the management has resorted to victimisation tactics. The public sector companies are a step ahead of the multinational corporate companies in victimising the employees. In the case CMRL too, the voice of the workers are being suppressed for unionising and questioning the management’s decision to outsource the work to private players. With the Narendra Modi-led government winning a mandate for five more years, the hardships of the workers may multiply further.

Also Watch: Chennai Metro Rail Workers Forced to Protest Due to Contractualisation Policies