US firm CorroHealth denies entry for fired employees to Kochi office as layoff row deepens

Kochi: The dispute between the US-based healthcare solutions company, CorroHealth, and its Kerala employees escalated on Monday after the company allegedly denied entry to laid-off employees at its Kochi office, despite an earlier understanding with the Labour Department to maintain the status quo until further talks.

Employees, who reached the company's Palarivattom office on Monday morning, found themselves locked out of the office, which functions from a co-working space. According to employees, the co-working facility had been instructed by CorroHealth not to allow them inside.

Vishnu, a manager who was among the nearly 800 employees terminated by the company, alleged that the company had gone back on the agreement reached with the Labour Department. “They told us we could come to the office on Monday after Friday's discussions. But when we arrived here today, we were not allowed to enter. They have locked us out completely. This is another violation of the understanding reached with the Labour Department,” Vishnu said. Dozens of employees staged a sit-in protest outside the office following the lockout. 

Meanwhile, the Labour Commissioner will hold discussions with the protesting employees at the Ernakulam guest house to address their concerns. The Labour Secretary is also expected to arrive in Kochi to assess the situation.

The latest confrontation comes after CorroHealth terminated nearly 800 employees from its Kochi and Kozhikode offices last week, triggering protests. The Labour Department had subsequently intervened, and both sides had agreed to maintain the status quo pending further discussions on Monday.

However, on Saturday, CorroHealth informed the government that it would not attend the meeting originally scheduled for Monday and requested that it be postponed. Following the development, Labour Minister Bindu Krishna has convened a fresh meeting with the company's senior management on Friday.

Employees also alleged that after announcing the layoffs on Friday, the company credited between two and three months' salary into employees’ bank accounts later that night despite the matter being under conciliation before the Labour Department.

According to Vishnu, the company transferred an estimated ₹12 crore to ₹15 crore in a single night. “If they are capable of transferring such massive sums overnight, it completely refutes their claim of a financial crisis. They are simply trying to push through a forced termination on their own terms before the government can intervene,” he alleged.

Workers also claimed that while they still possessed their physical identity cards, the company disabled access to all internal systems.

CorroHealth has reportedly defended the retrenchment by citing provisions of the new Central Labour Code relating to fixed-term employment. However, the Kerala government has rejected the company's stand, saying the new Labour Code was not yet implemented in the state and therefore could not override existing labour protections.

Trade unions, including the CITU, have extended support to the protesting employees. The employees are continuing to demand reinstatement of all affected staff. They have also said they were willing to discuss salary restructuring if it helps save jobs. If the retrenchment is not reversed, they are seeking compensation equivalent to 10 months' salary.