Nokia employees to file plea in Delhi HC

Questions on company's plans to become contact manufactuer

Workers of Nokia’s facility at Sriperumbudur near Chennai will file a petition in the Delhi High Court on Saturday, seeking its permission to implead in an ongoing case between the cellphone manufacturer and the Income Tax Department.

M Saravanakumar, president, Nokia India Thozhilar Sangam, said, “We will move the Delhi High Court on Saturday, pleading the court to allow us to implead in the case. We will request the court to consider it, as the issue concerns the lives of 30,000 people. In the last seven years, we have worked hard to make this manufacturing unit globally number one (for Nokia). We are not satisfied with the way they handled the issue.” The association claims to have the support of about 4,800 employees.

Nokia has said in case the assets are not allowed to be transferred, Nokia might seek a contract manufacturing agreement with Microsoft for up to 12 months.

Saravanakumar said, “Workers don’t have any clue about it (contract manufacturing deal). If Nokia has decided to sell its business to them (Microsoft), from where does the contract manufacturing issue come? We need answers for all these.” He also said as promised, the management should make the workers Microsoft employees by January.

Meanwhile, a Nokia spokesperson said, “We are happy that the union is joining the case. We are all fighting for the same reason.”

On the union’s criticism on the way the management had handled the issue, the spokesperson said, “We are doing our best to solve the issue and protect the employees.”

The union — which had already written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa seeking their intervention in the matter — will meet members of Parliament from the state.