Clear millmen's dues: Govt

The state labour department will not issue a no-dues certificate to Century Textile Mill owners till they clear the pending dues of the mill workers, said Ganesh Naik, labour minister in the Assembly on Tuesday.

The government told the owners to start a separate unit for the 277 workers who have not opted for VRS and added that they cannot force  workers to quit jobs.

He added that in cases where the management has been found to have forced workers to quit, the government would reopen their cases and ensure that justice was done. He said this while replying to supplementaries on a calling attention notice moved by Tukaram Birkad (NCP).

Naik said the mill management had on April 13 withdrawn its application for closing the mill.

He said among the many reasons for closure of textile mills in the city included high costs of labour, state excise duty, cost of power and other factors.