Talrop Employees’ Protest Moves Towards Resolution; Management Agrees to Clear Salary Dues and Benefits

Thiruvananthapuram: The protest launched by Talrop employees following the company’s mass layoffs has moved towards a resolution after the management agreed to clear pending salaries and provide benefits to employees.

Following discussions between the management and employees, it was decided that salary arrears, pending salaries and other benefits would be paid to the company’s employees.

Officials said that benefits would also be provided to employees who were laid off and those who had resigned. Pending salary dues and salaries will be cleared before October 31. Compensation is expected to be paid in December, while a meeting to determine the amount of compensation will be held during the first week of November.

Employees said they would launch stronger protest programmes if the management failed to comply with the terms agreed upon during the discussions.

Talrop had decided to shut down after laying off around 300 employees at once, triggering protests by the workforce.

Employees had also alleged large-scale investment fraud involving the company. The company’s owners are suspected to have raised nearly ₹1,000 crore from investors over the past decade. The company reportedly has investors in India and abroad.

Around 300 people are said to have invested between ₹50 lakh and ₹10 crore each in the form of land, buildings and money.

However, investors and employees allegedly did not receive the promised profit share or remuneration. Several investors reportedly learned that the company had shut down after they were unable to contact company representatives by phone.

Safir Najumudheen, a native of Pangode in Thiruvananthapuram, is the chairman of the company. His brother, Sobin Najumudheen, along with Anas Abdul Ghafoor, Shameer Khan and Afeefa Salim, all natives of Kadakkal in Kollam district, are listed as co-founders.

The company was formed in 2015 and registered in 2017 with a capital of only ₹10 lakh. It is alleged that the company used investments collected from several people to establish its offices.