AG asked to speed up distribution of compensation to employees of Elstone Estate

The Advocate General of Kerala has been directed to speed up the distribution of severance pay to the employees of Elstone Estate in Wayanad, where the government is planning to build a township to accommodate the survivors of the Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslides. The directive came in a meeting attended by Ministers K. Rajan (Revenue), V. Sivankutty (Public Education and Labour) and O.R. Kelu (Development of Scheduled Castes and Tribes), besides District Collector R. Meghashree and Additional Labour Commissioner (IR) Sunil K.M. on Friday.

The AG had informed the High Court that the government owed the employees ₹5,97,53,793 on various accounts and that the revenue recovery process was in progress. Besides, the departments concerned are collecting details of the wages, wage arrears, and gratuity of these employees. The government had remitted the amount demanded by the court in two instalments. However, the court had given no directions on how to distribute the amount. The State had submitted an affidavit in the court on providing the compensation for the employees from the amount that was remitted in the court. The AG was directed in the meeting to bring this to the court’s attention.

Various benefits

At a meeting held at the office of the District Labour Officer in Wayanad earlier, the management of Elstone Estate had agreed to pay the various benefits to the employees without delay. This includes PF arrears from February 2015 to December 2024 (₹2,73,43,304), fine for the same suggested by the Provident Fund Commissioner, the bonus for the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 (₹4,43,995), annual leave surrender benefits for years 2022, 2023 and 2024 (₹14,20,591), salary arrears for the years 2019 and 2023 (₹4,46,382), excess provident fund charged (₹7,21,240), wage arrears of the employees and supervisors for four months (₹17,93,087), weather protective benefits for six years (₹3,25,500), gratuity of 150 employees (₹2,35,09,300) and unclaimed dues (₹33,67,409).