New Delhi: JK Group, owner of the leading tyre company JK Tyres, on May 28 released a press statement announcing relief support for its employees and their families.
Soon after ETAuto published the Group release on the ‘JK CARES’ programme, there have been massive criticisms and adverse comments online from netizens claiming to be employees of the company. A large number of them depicted a contrary situation prevailing in the group’s one of the companies JK Tyres Chennai plant during this pandemic crisis.
“I have been working in the JK CTP plant for the last six years. We have a very bad management team. In this situation no support for us employees. At this time we are not provided with healthy food, we also don’t get sanitiser. No arrangement to maintain social distance in the canteen or bus” wrote a user named Pintu Barman. The Chennai auto manufacturing hub has been facing workers strike demanding an extension of lockdown. Workers at the JK Tyre Chennai plant have also been striking for the same reason.
Another user named Miracle Mani who claimed to be an employee of the company demanded that as long as there is a complete curfew in Tamil Nadu, all workers should be given full paid leave. He also pointed out that the management shall bear the full medical expenses incurred by the workers in case of COVID exposure and shall declare the holidays taken by the COVID victims as paid days.
“My name is Satheesh and I work at JK TYRES CHENNAI PLANT. I was infected with COVID-19 on May 8 and my whole family got infected. I have two kids – a six-year-old girl and a six-month-old girl. They were also infected. But till today I have not received any kind of help from my management. This is a very hard time but our management does not do anything for our four lives. Very bad and bad management….” another user named Satheesh Bindhu commented.
Similar demands and concerns are being posted by many others on different social media platforms, contradicting the company’s claim of maintaining safety and COVID protocol.
The tyre maker denying any such event said: ” Currently, all our nine planets across the country are operational while strict protocols, set by the local authorities, are being followed to ensure the safety of everyone on premise. These include proactive measures like regular health checkups and screening of employees and timely sanitization of facilities. In addition to ensuring that our plant premises stay secure, we are also supporting the neighboring communities with medical aids like oxygen concentrators, face shields & masks, sanitizers etc. In association with local authorities, we have also initiated vaccination drives at our plant locations. In Chennai, 100% of the staff members and their spouses in 45+ age group and 350+ members in 18+ age bracket have been vaccinated. We have also introduced a comprehensive relief package for the dependent families of our colleagues who have unfortunately lost their lives due to COVID-19. Particularly in Chennai, a large number of our employees come from neighbouring states. Therefore we are utilising resources as required and available to us during this lockdown situation.”
Disclaimer: ETAuto has not independently verified either party. We cannot either vouch for the truthfulness and implementation of the company’s JK Cares programme. We also don’t confirm the veracity of a large number of criticisms and comments against the company’s conduct pouring in from the employees and others. We as a neutral platform have shared both sides of the story, reader discretion is advised.
The purpose of this relief initiative, the company said, is to support the affected families, in case of any casualty(ies) of the employee(s), due to COVID between April 2020 and March 2022.