How did a 2022 one-column news piece become a ‘scoop story’ in 2025?: Minister V Sivankutty exposes Manorama

Thiruvananthapuram: Labour Minister V Sivankutty has exposed Malayala Manorama for publishing false news claiming that the LDF and trade unions were unaware of Kerala’s draft labour rules prepared in line with the central government’s labour codes. The minister revealed that the misinformation circulated by the UDF’s newspaper three years later was, in fact, based on a news report originally published by Manorama itself.

On 2 July 2022, the Labour Minister inaugurated a state-level workshop organised by the Labour Department in Thiruvananthapuram. The following day, Manorama published a one-column report on an inside page. The report clearly stated that the workshop had been held as part of the formulation of state-level rules based on the central labour codes. According to Manorama, the minister had also pointed out during his inauguration speech that certain elements of the central laws were contrary to Kerala’s interests and did not comply with the International Labour Organisation’s standards.

However, in the context of the central government implementing the labour codes and the Left’s ongoing vigorous protests, Manorama published misleading news to confuse the public. On 26 November, the newspaper ran a front-page story titled “Munnani Ariyatha Rahasya Neekkam” (‘The move without the knowledge of the Front’) in large print.

In a Facebook post, the minister questioned how a one-column 2022 report had become a ‘scoop story’ for Manorama in 2025. He stated that the government had carefully examined all suggestions and objections raised during the workshop. The government fully supported the trade unions’ concerns that the four central labour codes would undermine workers’ legal rights. Accordingly, the Labour Department decided that no further action should be taken regarding the labour codes. The minister added that since this decision, the state has not undertaken any action either in relation to state rules or the implementation of the central labour codes.