"240 Employees Face a Closed Gate", 4 February 2025

240 Star Knitwear employees – Mauritians and foreigners – received their dismissal letters by mail on January 29th, to their great surprise. Yesterday morning, although the letter stated that their last day of work was February 28th, they went to their workplace, only to find themselves facing a closed gate. The dismissal of the 240 employees of Star Knitwear...is part of its restructuring strategy, as announced in a press release...

"...We are analyzing whether they are legal," explains an employee with 25 years of service at the company... According to him, the employees who received their termination letters met on Monday to discuss the next steps and are meeting again today. "We're still in the dark. We haven't contacted a lawyer yet, but we will soon," he said. "Technically," he added, those who received their letters are still employed, as the letter states that their employment ends on February 28.

The termination letter...states that they will receive a lump sum payment that includes compensation equivalent to one month's salary in lieu, a prorated year-end bonus based on earnings through February 28, 2025, the final balance of the 14th-month bonus payment, and compensation for unused leave in 2024, if applicable. The company's letter states that the company has been facing financial difficulties for several years due to declining business volume and escalating operational costs. The company also states that despite management's efforts to support operations, including exploring various strategies, "these efforts have not yielded sufficient results to continue operations," the letter reads. In a statement, Star Knitwear explains that it is undertaking a major restructuring plan. The reason is "declining production, increasing costs, and a fairly significant loss of competitiveness."...

"We were warned that we would be fired, but the shock came too quickly," explains Rekha Gungoo, a former Star Knitwear employee...This unionized employee explains that the workers were unable to say anything, as entering the facility is illegal. The former employee adds that these were mothers and fathers who were dismissed even though they gave their "heart and soul" to the company. According to some employees who wished to remain anonymous, the company stopped overtime last year due to a lack of orders. "We noticed a slowdown in activity after December 2024," they explained...

...the Confederation of Public and Private Sector Workers (CTSP) announced that a meeting will be held...at its headquarters..."We must have this meeting to avoid any mistakes," she said. She added that she considers herself a victim of dismissal after expressing her dissatisfaction when employees did not receive their year-end bonuses on time. "We must also know our rights," she insisted. A meeting is also scheduled for this morning at the Ministry of Labor to discuss the next steps. She believes this dismissal was premeditated...

[Translation via Google Translate]