Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) state secretary and former Labour Minister V. Sivankutty on Sunday (July 5, 2026) strongly condemned the reported mass termination of nearly 800 employees by CorroHealth Infotech Private Limited across its centres in Kerala. He accused the U.S.-based medical coding firm of exploiting the Centre’s new Labour Codes to undermine workers’ rights.

According to the CPI(M) leader, under the previous legal framework, establishments employing 100 or more workers were required to obtain prior government permission before closure, retrenchment or layoffs. However, the new Industrial Relations Code has increased the threshold to 300 employees, thereby weakening job security. The developments at the firm has exposed the consequences of the policy shift, Mr. Sivankutty said at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram.

Criticising the manner in which the company allegedly dealt with employees who had protested against severe labour exploitation, he warned that CITU would launch strong agitations against such practices that reportedly took place in IT and IT-enabled service companies in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. The absence of strong trade union movements in IT and allied sectors has enabled managements to implement anti-worker decisions without effective resistance, Mr. Sivankutty pointed out.

He also claimed that since the Centre’s Labour Codes have not yet been implemented in Kerala, workers continue to enjoy the protection of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. Under the law, establishments employing 100 or more workers cannot undertake layoffs, retrenchment or closure without obtaining prior approval from the government.

CITU will pursue all available legal remedies, including raising the matter as an industrial dispute before the Labour Commissioner and the Labour Courts, he asserted.

The former Minister also urged the State government to immediately act on the recommendations submitted by the expert committee headed by former Supreme Court judge V. Gopala Gowda, which studied the implications of the Labour Codes. The committee, he said, had found the Labour Codes to run contrary to the constitutional principles of social and economic justice and weaken labour rights.

He added that the panel had clarified that the Codes merely prescribe the minimum standards and do not prevent states from introducing more beneficial provisions for workers. The report also recommends that states can enact laws requiring prior government approval for layoffs and retrenchment even in establishments employing as few as 50 workers, despite the central legislation increasing the threshold to 300 employees. It also calls for expanding the legal definition of workers to prevent exploitation, revising wage-related provisions, amending various sections of the Labour Codes and introducing state-specific legislation aimed at strengthening labour rights.

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Besides, since labour falls within the Concurrent List of the Constitution, he said state governments possess the legislative authority to safeguard workers by framing laws and regulations that provide stronger protections than those guaranteed under the central legislation, Mr. Sivankutty said.