The Atlas Cycles unit in Sahibabad closed on June 3.
Ghaziabad (UP):
The shutdown of the last remaining unit of Atlas Cycles in Sahibabad earlier this week shocked its employees, who threatened to protest if it did not reopen soon.
CEO N P Singh Rana said the closure is only temporary and that the company will resume operations once it is able to raise around Rs 50 crore by selling excess land.
Until then, the company pays the “redundancy wages” to the workers, who are still on the lists. They are required to mark their presence to obtain this salary.
While Atlas Cycles reports that 431 workers remain on the cash-hungry company’s lists, the workers’ union said there were around 500 other temporary workers.
According to Mahesh Singh, secretary general of the union affiliated to the CITU, the minimum wage at the factory is Rs 13,600 per month.
During the layoff period, workers will receive half the salary, of which around 2,000 rupees would be deducted from the contingency fund and other contributions, according to the union.
The company hasn’t elaborated on “layoff wages,” but they generally account for half of what employees normally receive.
Mahesh Singh said it would be difficult for workers to pay rent for their homes and feed their families with that amount.
Management and union representatives were summoned by the assistant labor commissioner on Friday.
“During the conversation, management assured workers’ union leaders that it would reopen the plant very soon. If management fails to honor its word, the union will organize demonstrations against the owners of the plant” said Mr. Singh.
Uttar Pradesh Congress Leader Narendra Rathi said he would meet with Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and ask him to help the factory so that its workers “do not starve to death “.
CITU local chief Brijesh Singh said the closure of the Sahibabad plant would also make “several thousand workers” unemployed in the units from which Atlas outsourced parts for the bikes.
The unit closed on June 3.
Singh said that all workers meet daily at the gates to mark their attendance so that they receive half their wages during the layoff period.
