Thiruvananthapuram | Labour Minister Bindhu Krishna on Sunday said she would hold talks with the management of the US-based IT company that allegedly terminated around 850 employees from its Kochi and Kozhikode offices, as the state government stepped up efforts to resolve the issue.

Speaking to reporters, Krishna said she would travel to Kochi on July 10 to hold discussions with the company’s senior officials.

Around 850 employees engaged in medical coding work were allegedly terminated on Friday without prior notice.

The minister said that during the initial round of discussions, the company had assured the government that the layoffs would be kept in abeyance and that further talks would be held on Monday.

“However, before those discussions could take place, the company deposited two months’ salary into the employees’ bank accounts. This created the impression that the company had not honoured its commitment to suspend the layoffs,” she said.

Krishna said that since Saturday and Sunday were holidays, the labour commissioner had been directed to lead the follow-up discussions on Monday.

“The labour commissioner will reach Kochi on Monday. Meanwhile, the labour department has been in constant touch with the management,” she said.

The minister said the government had insisted on the participation of senior officials from the company’s US management in the discussions.

“They have agreed to come on July 10 or later. I will personally go to Kochi on July 10 and hold discussions with the company’s top officials,” she said.

Rejecting allegations that the state government had failed to intervene, Krishna said the government stood firmly with the workers while also trying to ensure that industries continued to operate in Kerala.

“Such allegations are baseless and politically motivated. The government is holding discussions because such mass layoffs cannot be carried out arbitrarily. If the action is found to be illegal, legal proceedings can be initiated against the company. But our priority is to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation,” she said.

The minister said the government was trying to ensure that the company continued its operations in Kerala rather than shut down and leave the state.

Referring to the legal position, Krishna said that under the Industrial Disputes Act, establishments employing more than 100 workers require prior government approval before closure, while the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, prescribes a threshold of 300 employees.

“The Industrial Relations Code has not yet been implemented in Kerala. Though the Centre has notified the rules, the state has to finalise and notify its own rules,” she said.

Krishna said the government had already initiated consultations for framing Kerala’s rules under the new labour codes.

“I have already held the first round of discussions. We will soon organise a workshop involving legal experts, trade unions and management representatives before finalising Kerala’s rules,” she said.

She alleged that the new labour codes have curtailed the powers of the Labour Department to conduct inspections.

“Earlier, inspections could be carried out whenever complaints were received. Under the new labour codes, there are several restrictions. We will examine the Justice V Gopala Gowda Committee report and explore every possible legal and legislative option available to protect workers’ interests in Kerala,” she said.