INTUC, AITUC to boycott inaugural

Two of the active trade unions at BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (BATL) will jointly boycott the inauguration of a missile integration complex by Defence Minister A K Antony scheduled for Wednesday.

A joint declaration by the BrahMos Staff Association (INTUC) and the BrahMos Employees Union (AITUC) said that the unions were boycotting the event in protest against the employee-unfriendly measures and flouting of labour laws by the BATL management and mismanagement which had pushed the company into loss.

Antony is scheduled to inaugurate the missile integration complex on the land given by the Indian Air Force at Chackai at 3.30 p.m. This reportedly is going to be a low-key function. The complex forms part of the much-delayed phase II of the BATL project for which the stone was laid in February 2010.

BATL was formed in 2007 by taking over State Government-owned KELTEC to manufacture the BrahMos missiles, but labour issues have been simmering here ever since. Employees say that neither Antony or then Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem, the two leaders who initiated the takeover, had done anything to solve the issues. Repeated pleas and representations have failed to elicit a favourable response, they allege.

While labour issues rock the boat on the one side, inability to find additional land is causing problems on the other. Without additional land, future development will prove impossible, BATL officials said.