Company hopes workers will return; DM orders probe

On Monday,a magisterial inquiry into the incident was also ordered by District Magistrate Hridayesh Kumar.

There are,however,a few who doubt that the workers will return to work soon. “If the management starts identifying the workers and handing them over to the police,why would workers show up for work?” said a senior manager at the company.

Mahendra Choudhary,vice-president (HR),said they have images of workers who attacked their CEO Naresh Kaushik in his office. Choudhary also alleged that the clash was planned by a few workers who had been asked by the company to put in more work.

“There was a group of 13 workers who used to evade work. We noticed them and started handing them responsibilities. We even changed their shifts as all of them were working in general shift,” he said.

Choudhary claimed that the workers are bound by an agreement which makes it legally invalid for them to strike against the management. “There was an agreement made before the Labour Commission which stated that the workers cannot strike or force any of their demands on management. The contract ends on December 31,2011. Both parties agreed upon a three-year contract regarding the hike and salary of the workers,” he added.

Choudhary also denied the allegation that some members of management fired in the air during the clash. “I do not know if anybody fired shots in air.”

Meanwhile,a large number of police personnel have been deployed near the factory.