THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Four months ago,BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Limited (BATL), a leading missile integration and defence production unit in the state, shut down its library and reading room.
Other BrahMos units in the country have a technical library and other facilities as part of employees' welfare.
The company is governed by an independent board of directors and is headed by chairman Dr A Sivathanu Pillai.
The BATL management said: "Reading room and club is not within the scope of BrahMos. It is the company's decision following de-recognition of trade unions after taking over of Kerala Hi-tech Industries Limited (Keltech) by Brahmos Aerospace in December 2007."
Employees at BATL are, however, upset. "We had a club with facilities such as carom board. That, too, has been shut," says one of them.
For the last four years employees and the management at BATL have been at loggerheads over various issues.
"We believe the company's productivity can be enhanced without affecting the welfare of the workers," said Abdul Salaam, general secretary of the BrahMos Trade Union.
A spokesperson for the management said the company has ensured reasonable pay for its employees and has a workmen's welfare committee to represent the employees.
