Karnataka’s labour secretary P Manivannan transferred without new posting

Bengaluru, May 12: Senior IAS officer, and principal secretary, in the labour department of Karnataka, P Manivannan was transferred late on Monday evening. He also held the post of secretary, information department.

While being relieved without any posting, Maheshwar Rao was posted in his place. It may be recalled that Manivannan had established the Corona Warriors team. Many persons were working in this team and they have expressed shock over the decision of the government. They have also started an online campaign called BringBackManivannan.

The announcement comes at a time when the Karnataka government is considering relaxing labour laws that govern minimum wages, increase overtime working hours and easing compliance with key legislation to help industries.

Manivannan earned praise for being responsive to the public. He was active on social media platforms and initiated a Telegram group for the public to raise queries about the coronavirus outbreak. This group currently has over 27,000 users.

Manivannan had recently said that the government would issue notices to employers who were not paying workers during the lockdown. He said that he had received over 700 complaints in 24 hours regarding the issue.