The Uttar Pradesh police today arrested over 100 people in connection with the killing of LK Chaudhury, chief executive of Italian auto part maker Graziano Transmissions India Pvt Ltd.
An angry mob of sacked workers of the company had allegedly attacked the office premises and beaten Chaudhury to death on Monday.
Meanwhile, Union Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes today said company managements should not adopt a hire-and-fire policy. He said the issue of hire-and-fire would be taken up at a meeting of the labour congress. “There are disparities in the wages of permanent employees and contract workers. The workers should not be pushed so hard that they resort to whatever has happened in Noida,” Fernandes was quoted as saying in a PTI report.
The statement came even as industry captains today condemned the incident and said the state had failed to provide security to industrialists. The workers were dismissed about two months back and were protesting since then.
“It is shameful that such an incident should occur in India. If disgruntled employees can take law into their hands to settle industrial disputes, we all have to think carefully about investing in India. I am shocked,” said Ashish Bharat Ram, managing director, SRF Ltd.
Industry associations also came down hard and said the incident would dampen investor confidence.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) called the murder a tragic, unwanted and gory act of violence, even as the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) was concerned about the impact the incident would have on India’s image as an investment destination.
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) said Uttar Pradesh had lost its industrial glory. The state will find it difficult to attract investments in future if lawlessness is not controlled by the government, said Assocham President Sajjan Jindal.
The PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry called this incident an unprecedented one, when a dispute between the management and the workers has led to the killing of the senior official.
