“Reporting labor violations may have led to layoffs at CorroHealth in Kozhikode”

K. Jayanth, Kozhikode North MLA, interacting with the sacked employees of CorroHealth Infotech Private Ltd. outside their Kozhikode office on 7th July. | Photo credit: K. Ragesh

Part of the employees of CorroHealth Infotech Private Ltd. in Kozhikode, whose services were recently terminated without notice, claimed that their attempts to highlight labor law violations at work could be one of the reasons for their dismissal.

About 300 employees of the company, which provides healthcare analytics and technology-driven solutions to hospitals and health systems, lost their jobs on July 3 in Kozhikode. In Kochi, the number of those who found themselves without work was over 500.

Some employees in Kozhikode told The Hindu on Tuesday that they have taken up with the government authorities the violation of labor rules by the company.

“Although the working schedule is between 9:00 and 18:00, the company forced us to be in the office until 21:00 quite often. Most of us were forced to work over 12 hours. When we solved the problem with the department of labor five months ago, the authorities warned the company against breaking the rules. However, after two to three months, everything returned to the old track,” said one of the employees.

While the staff are supposed to be off on Saturdays and Sundays, they have also been forced to be on duty on those days citing backlog of work. It was also reported that the performance classification of employees who took statutory leave was downgraded.

Among those facing termination notices were employees who had recently moved from a company office elsewhere in the country. “I was working in their Coimbatore office in Tamil Nadu. I joined this office only recently. When some of us said we were willing to relocate to keep our jobs, the company officials rejected the request,” said another employee.

The sacked workers are now pinning their hopes on talks scheduled between government officials and management representatives in Kochi on July 10.

Although discussions were previously scheduled for July 6, the company reportedly sought more time to send its representatives. Till July 10, employees are allowed to enter the premises in Kozhikode and mark their participation.

K. Jayanth, Kozhikode North MLA, who spoke to them on Tuesday, said he had discussed the issue with Labor Minister Bindhu Krishna several times. “The minister has promised that if the July 10 negotiations fail, he will take it up with the Union labor minister. The state government is trying its best to restore the company’s operations here,” he added. On Monday, Beypore MLA PA Mohamed Riyas also visited the premises and spoke to them.

OTHERS protest

Meanwhile, activists of the Center of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) took out a protest march to the company’s office near West Hill. Inaugurating the march, CITU state secretary PK Mukundan blamed the labor code implemented by the Union government for the current situation. He also accused the United Democratic Front government of following the policy of the Center in this regard. “When the US company officials said they could not come to the meeting, the minister simply nodded their opinion. Why did the government not take any action? Chief Minister VD Satheesan is also silent,” he claimed.

Published – 7 Jul 2026 14:57 IST