Videocon union to demand pending salaries, stage sit-in at Dhoots residence

The Videocon Group employees union, which has been on a chain sit-in since the past 72 days, has decided to stage a sit-in at the residence of Venugopal Dhoot, the group chairman, here on Thursday seeking salaries pending for a year now.

Weighed down by heavy debt, the Videocon group with 13 operating companies, was sent to bankruptcy court last year and a resolution is pending.

"It is more than a year that we have not been paid and when we asked for it, the management hired new hands. This is despite the labour court, the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court directing them to pay our salaries. Now we are left with no other option but to kill ourselves," union president Gajanan Khandare told PTI here on Wednesday.

 

He also said the union, which has 340 members, had approached the chief minister and the state labour minister, apart from the Union labour minister but to no avail and alleged that now district magistrate and divisional commissioner are not even giving them an appointment and blamed the Videocon management for this.

The union has also resorted to a 'begging agitation' and collected Rs 721 from the public which was handed over to the collector with a request to hand over to the company owners so that "they can buy aviation fuel to fly their helicopters."

The Dhoots did not return calls from PTI.