Chennai, Sep 22 (Inditop.com) Roy George, vice president (human resource) in the Coimbatore-based Pricol Ltd, died Tuesday, a day after being attacked by company workers. Nine workers have been arrested for his death.
The Rs.633 crore turnover Pricol is a leading auto component manufacturer.
Pricol was afflicted by labour problems for some time. The issue came to a boil Monday when the company dismissed around 35 workers in one of its factories near Coimbatore.
Enraged by the news, a group of workers went on the rampage at the company’s Plant I at Perianaickenpalayam, damaging computers, glass panels and other furniture.
Officials who tried to intervene were attacked, and George was hit on the head. George, 46, was admitted to a Coimbatore hospital with serious injuries. He succumbed to his injuries Tuesday.
According to the Coimbatore police, four employees – three male and one female – were injured in the attack, including George.
While three were admitted to hospital, one was treated as an outpatient Monday.
According to officials, the company does not have any immediate plans to close down the plant.
Meanwhile, shocked over the death, industry lobby Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Southern Region, strongly condemned the attack on George.
In a statement here, C.R. Swaminathan, chairman CII Southern Region, said any labour issue would need to be resolved through consensus only and not through violence.
Concerned with the increasing incidents of labour unrest, Swaminathan urged the Tamil Nadu government to take firm action against those who had taken law in their hands.
In his message, C.K. Ranganathan, chairman, CII-Tamil Nadu, appealed to the state government for its intervention in protecting the interests of labour and management.
When contacted by Inditop, state Labour Minister T.M. Anbarasan was not available for comment on the increasing labour unrest in the state.
