KOLLAM: Relatives of an Odisha worker who died in Punalur allege foul play by his employer denying compensation. Prabhakara Swain, 49, was a cook at Sreerag Cartons, Tholicode, for the past six years. In a blatant violation of laws on the rights of migrants, the employer allegedly manipulated his tenure to less than six months to avoid compensation. Mr Swain who hails from Izzapur village died of cardiac arrest in wee hours of Saturday, and the body still lies in the mortuary at Punalur Taluk Hospital, pending the autopsy report.
"The owner says he would pay just Rs 50,000 and will bear expenses to take the body home. They informed the authorities that he worked only for six months whereas he joined the company some six years back. We even suspect the cause of his death," Sachidananda Pradhan, a relative, told DC. Mr Swain leaves behind his wife and two children. The relatives who work in various parts of the state came to know about the death only after the police informed them. "The company offered funeral expenses and asked them to consider it as final settlement. A mediator visited his family in Odisha persuading and sometimes threatening his wife to accept '50,000 as full settlement. Legally, he should get at least Rs 3 lakh considering his experience," said Roshan Thomas, a lawyer who mediates the case.
The company has not registered their employees with the government as per norms to evade payment of insurance and perks. "Nobody has approached us seeking compensation. We have handed over the body kept in the mortuary to the relatives. The man was one among ten labourers with us and was working as a cook," Varghese Mathew, its manager, told DC. Meanwhile, relatives find no way to take the body to their village and observe religious rituals.
