Kochi: A woman cooking gas agency owner in Edavanakkad, Ernakulam District, has complained to the police that she was harassed by trade union men demanding the regularisation of four temporary workers.
The agent Uma Sudheer got the agency under the Scheduled Caste quota. The leader of the CPM-led trade union Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has been asking her to make four temporary workers permanent.
Uma’s husband, Sudheer says, they have already ten permanent workers, hence do not need more.
Uma has complained to the Police that she was beaten by the Gas Agency Workers’ Union (CITU) state leader Anilkumar. Her husband and son were beaten too, she alleges.
Sudheer confirms, he was beaten by the union leader. He said, his daily business is 250 cylinders a day. So, he does not see any reason to have more than 10 permanent employees.
Uma said that the union leader abused her and beat her. He even went to the extent of threatening to kill her. She alleges, they told her that they know how to kill; they asked her to close down the shop and go; they asserted, they belong to the ruling party of the state.
This is a ridiculous situation. Similar incidents have occurred in Kerala since the Pinarayi Vijayan regime took over in 2016. The interventions of unions of both CPM-led CITU and CPI-led All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) have created many troubles in the business and industries sector of Kerala. Sugathan, a Gulf returnee entrepreneur, committed suicide last year as the local CPI men did not permit him to start a small workshop. Another aspirant in Kannur district committed suicide too. Several similar incidents have been taking place. When Kochaouseph Chittilappilli, proprietor of huge business empire consisting of V-Guard Electronics, Wonderla Water Theme Parks near Kochi and in Bengluru, Veegaland Builders, V-Star Garments, etc., unloaded cargo from a lorry when union workers demanded exorbitant wages for it. He opted to do it despite having donated a kidney to a deserving patient hence having only one. He is a prominent member of a kidney donors team in Kerala.
Kerala High Court has several times intervened in the state when hyper trade unionism came as stumbling block in the way of industries.
In Edavanakad the things are again different, pathetic and shocking. Here the trade unionists beat a woman and block her business endeavours. Same Pinarayi Vijayan and his comrades in his party as well as the Left Democrat Front (LDF) have been shouting on top of their voice from the housetops that they stand for justice for women and weaker sections of the society, read SC, ST (and minorities). And, people of the state have not forgotten the infamous “Vanitha Mathil” (Women’s wall, that is, a women only human chain) organised by the LDF Government in the state on January 1, 2019. Its core slogan was “Navodhanam” meaning renaissance. It was the plot of the ruling apparatus of LDF to propagate that they are the sole proprietors of renaissance. They wanted to justify their attempts to violate the temple traditions in Sabarimala and take women to the hill temple using police and party force against who opposed it. It was alleged that government spent Rs 50 crores for organising it even though it was an utter failure.
Now, the right thinking people wonder what is happening to a SC woman entrepreneur under Marxist regime.
