After several threats, the management of Firemount Textiles Ltd has finally taken action. Yesterday it cancelled the work and residence permits of eleven workers thought to be the ones who incited the others to go on strike. Since then, the police have been searching forthem with a deportation order but they have left the factory premises and can’t be found.

362 Indian factory workers started a strike last Friday because they had found insects in their food. Since then, they have refused to work in protest against their working conditions at the St Félix factory. Some officers from the ministry were on the factory site on Sunday to try to persuade the Indian workers to resume their duties.

They thought they had succeeded with 150 of them – as the latter had said they would resume their duties – but a majority decided they would continue the strike. Only 40 started working again while the other 332 opted to continue their strike for the seventh day.

What the strikers are requesting is a meeting with the factory’s general manager, Anil Koli, who has just come back to Mauritius,to express their grievances , but such a meeting has not been convened yet. The ministry of Labour and Industrial Relations proposed a tripartite meeting to try and make those workers see sense.

The latter want the quality of their food and of their overall living conditions to be improved as well as the reimbursement of the deduction made for their work permits, which they consider illegal. But the factory management has not shown any sign of flexibility. “We are helpless,” complain some strikers. They want a promise from the management that their complaints will be taken into consideration.

The 238 Mauritian workers have, for their part, shown much anger and anxiety at the Indians’ decision to go on strike. They are afraid that the factory will close down if they go on protesting.

They have even sent a petition to the minister asking for the strikers to be punished. If this situation persists, the production chain will be blocked and the factory will not be able to meet its orders, which are quite numerous at the moment. This could well have a bad impact on its reputation and on its future.