Aam Aadmi Party backs Falcon workers' strike

Party urges Centre to intervene and protect interests of workers who have been agitating for the past few months

The ongoing strike by 2,500 workers of the Falcon Tyres, Mysuru, has received support of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

It has urged the Centre to intervene and protect the interests of the workers who have been agitating for the past few months.

“Though the unit was profitable, it has been slowly pushed into a situation of closure with an eye on the real estate by the owners, with support from real estate mafia,” Party’s Media Coordinator G R Vidyaranaya said in a release.

“Though a recent press note from the management says that the plant will be reopened in the first week of June, the workers are discounting the story as owners are not ready to give this assurance in writing. Moreover, there is no physical activity in the factory premises such as raw material procurement among others, for the workers to believe that the management is doing something to restart the factory,” he alleged.

With the panchayat elections round the corner and model code of conduct in place, the party said political parties were not saying anything and workers are forced to continue their strike.

AAP district unit supported the cause of workers who are facing hardship due to the non-payment of salaries for the last few months and also because the management had not remitted their PF dues and TDS for several months, which the government had not taken note of, Vidyaranaya said, adding, “AAP insists that the Central government, which is canvassing about \"Make in India\" abroad should pay attention to a manufacturing unit on the brink of closure and let its workers make something useful in India and earn a decent living.”

A conciliatory meeting, convened by the state government last month at the behest of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru, had failed to break the deadlock, as the workers insisted on full payment of dues, while the management reportedly sought a month’s time to settle the dues and reopen the factory.

Earlier, the Falcon Tyres Employees Union office-bearers and All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) leaders had met the chief minister and sought his intervention. On March 3, the striking workers had also taken out a rally in the city.

Prior to the rally, Employees’ Union President D?V?Devaraj had said at a press conference that the factory had seen several strides ever since it was established by H D?Shetty in 1975 with a capacity to produce 2,000 tyres per day. Although, it currently manufactures 34,000 tyres and 18,000 tubes, it had stopped production from December last, depriving them of a livelihood.