Agitating employees of auto makers detained for bid to take

Nearly 1,500 employees of automobile majors Royal Enfield, Yamaha and Myoung Shin India Automotive (MSI) were Tuesday detained for over five hours by police when they attempted to carry out a protest march to the Kancheepuram Collectorate pressing their demands.

Stepping up their month-long protest pressing the demands, includig recognition of their respective unions, the employees affiliated to the CITU and other trade unions had announced the nearly 30-km rally from their factory campus near Oragadam, about 50 km from here, to the Kancheepuram district collectorate.

However, the police detained the protesters for taking out the rally without permission.

"Nearly 1,500 employees were detained and kept in two wedding halls nearby for organising the protest march to the collectorate without seeking permission. They were let off in the evening," a police official said.

CITU state president A Soundararajan told PTI that they would further intensify the protests since the companies were not heeding to the employees' demands.

"Employees working with retail outlets of these companies along with those working with over 50 other firms in Kancheepuram would also join the protest in the coming days," he said.

The employees of bike manufacturer Royal Enfield, Japan headquartered Yamaha and Myoung Shin Automotive India are on strike at Oragadam since September 24 demanding recognition for their respective employees' unions and reinstatement of some dismissed employees.