District admn mediates to resolve Sun Pharma labour crisis; Company agrees to five of seven demands

STOP-PRESS
GANGTOK, 03 Jan: The East District Administration has intervened in the labour unrest at the Sun Pharma establishment at Setipool in East Sikkim. The workers of the company have placed a seven-point charter of demands and have been on strike since 28 December 2011 in support of these demands. Matters had come to a head with the two sides taking a more confrontational position [read accompanying news-report headlined “Sun Pharma accuses 6 of rioting and intimidation”]. This brought the district administration into the picture as a mediator and a meeting was convened this afternoon between representatives from all concerned sections.

The meeting, which was chaired by the District Collector [East], D Anandan, and was attended by SDM [East], Dr AB Karki, senior officials from Sun Pharma Company, labourers on strike, Additional Labour Commissioner from Labour Department, Deputy Secretary from Industries and Commerce Department and representatives from All Sikkim Democratic Labour Front.
The 3-hour meeting deliberated on the different issues and demands. The DC instructed the company to resolve the crisis and further directed the labourers not to resort to violence or take the law into their own hands.
The SDM informs that company representatives responded positively and address the demands placed by the labourers. He further informed that labourers thanked the district administration for their intervention in the matter and agreed to resume work from tomorrow.
Dr Karki informed that at the meeting the company agreed to fulfill five demands placed by the labourers on strike and to place the remaining two demands to higher authorities.
The fulfilled demands included arranging a transport service for the workers, full payment for overtime duty, upgradation to semi-skilled, skilled and other higher posts as per the expertise and experience of the labourers, etc.
At the meeting, labourers and ASDLF representatives also placed their grievances, which were addressed by the company representatives.