Apex Court orders acquisition of ATI’s landed property, directs payment of compensation within four months.
Will the workers 13 years wait for settlement of VRS dues meet its logical end? Perhaps how the I sland A dministration responds to the decree would decide what the answer be. Those who followed my earlier post on the issue might be aware more than 800 workers of the erstwhile M/S A ndaman T imber I ndustries L td (popularly known as ATI ) have not been paid retirement and statutory dues admissible to them since the factory closed in the fall of 2000 . Estranged workers raised the issue in every available forum. Even a favourable L abour C ourt A ward was not honoured. This article traces the issue that has been hanging fire for more than 13 years. Factory's two of the three sheds collapsed on 26 Dec 2004 due to the Great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake M/S A ndaman T imber I ndustries L imited had its P lywood manufacturing factory at S hore P oint V illage near B ambooflat J etty in S outh A ndaman. The factory started sometime in the early 60’s with a modest t...