Discarded like curry leaves after a meal is how fifty-one-year-old Mohandoss Ganesan describes the situation he and 83 others are in. Mohandoss is the secretary and treasurer of the Karnataka General Labour Union (KGLU) that took their employers – who are part of the Nirma Group – to court for fraudulently claiming that they were labourers hired for contractual work. The court agreed with them and ruled in their favour, ordering the company Nuvoco Vistas Corporation to pay arrears in lakhs of rupees to each of the 84 workers of the union. But when the 20-year battle – fought in the courts and on the streets – ended in victory for the union, the company challenged the ruling in the Karnataka High Court.
