Management accepts employees' demands; Muthoot Finance strike called off

The indefinite strike Muthoot Finance employees had planned from June 18 has been called off after the management accepted their demands, including the settlement of service and wage conditions. The dispute was settled in talks between representatives of the employees' organisation and the management in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, in the presence of Labour Minister T P Ramakrishnan. The employees had announced the indefinite strike under the leadership of the Non-Banking and Private Finance Employees Association (CITU), raising various demands.

The management agreed to fully resolve, within three months, the situation where there is no clear difference in pay between long-serving employees and those with less seniority, and to accept a new pay structure with a higher basic pay. The demand to correct the anomaly in the 2017 bonus payment was also accepted. A three-member committee of the Labour Commissioner, the HR general manager and the association's general secretary has been entrusted with this. The amount to be paid will be presented to the committee by June 25, and any anomaly will be corrected and paid to employees by the 28th.

All incentives withheld will be paid at once. Association members denied foreign trips they were entitled to will be allowed them. Employees who lost branch-in-charge positions at various stages will get those responsibilities back. The association's demand on transfers will be considered and employees will be transferred to convenient places. On the demand to confirm employees who have been on probation for two years, the management said it was within its discretion and assured that it would be considered sympathetically. It was also agreed to take steps to settle cases filed against employees during the strike, and to distribute ESOPs with the approval of the next board of directors.

The Chief Labour Commissioner and the Additional Labour Commissioner, CITU all-India secretary K Chandran Pillai, state secretary K N Gopinath, K P Sahadevan, association general secretary C C Ratheesh, association Muthoot Finance unit general secretary Nisha K Jayan, Sholitha and M Abhilash, and C V John, John V John and Lijo for the management took part in the talks.