CorroHealth Layoffs: CM V D Satheesan Once Mocked CPI(M)'s Protest Against New Labour Codes, Says M V Govindan

Thiruvananthapuram: CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said strong protests must rise against medical coding company CorroHealth's mass dismissal of around 800 employees from its Keralma offices without prior notice. He said the firm's challenge and defiance cannot be accepted in Keralam, and a firm stand must be taken against it. The CPI(M), he said, had earlier warned that the central government's reformed labour codes would protect companies resorting to such closures.

M V Govindan noted at a press conference that when the CPI(M) had previously protested against the labour codes, Chief Minister V D Satheesan had responded dismissively. Trade unions across the country had held nationwide agitations foreseeing exactly the kind of harmful outcomes now being seen, and the unprecedented mass layoff at CorroHealth must be strongly opposed.

On the liquor tax controversy, he said the CM has still not answered why the tax on low-strength liquor was reduced from 251 percent to 120 percent. Even the Excise Minister himself, he noted, had said that now that the Assembly has passed the Finance Bill, liquor companies could approach courts and get favourable orders even if the government decides not to sell the product. The real beneficiaries of this government decision are the liquor barons, he said.

On the Kalladi landslide in Wayanad, M V Govindan called on all party workers to take to the ground and ensure the rescue operations led by government agencies and the disaster management department proceed at maximum speed. He also demanded that the government intervene to locate those trapped under the debris, provide immediate expert medical treatment to the injured, and ensure financial assistance.