BICHOLIM: The mining company stated on Thursday that it is ready for settlement with retrenched workers even as the latter approached the High Court of Bombay at Goa.
As many as 85 employees of a private mining company have been retrenched in Dignem, Sankhali. They and their families have been struggling both financially and mentally. They alleged that without a steady income for the last eight months, their families cannot cultivate their rice fields because residue from mining operations has polluted their fertile land.
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The retrenched workers appealed to the Chief Minister to intervene immediately since the area is in his constituency.
Reacting to the protest, the company stated in a press release that despite the absence of mining activity since 2018, it continued supporting the workmen financially right up to the retrenchment process undertaken in 2025, it claimed.
Prior to retrenchment, workers were offered a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) option. The company carried out the retrenchment process after obtaining requisite permissions from the concerned authorities and complying with applicable legal provisions. It said all dues payable to workers under the settlement terms have been cleared.
The challenge to the retrenchment process filed by the workers’ union is presently pending before the High Court of Bombay at Goa.
The company remains committed to transparent communication and has acted responsibly and in good faith throughout the prolonged period during which mining operations at Surla have remained suspended.
Under the e-auction regime, the Surla mine has been awarded to another entity and operations by the new leaseholder are yet to commence.
