Workers Block Access explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
A resolution professional arrives at a factory with two registered valuers and finds the gate held by workers who have not been paid for eleven months.
They are not obstructing out of malice. They are protecting the only leverage they have.
This is one of the most common practical obstacles in a manufacturing CIRP, and it is not a legal problem. It is a negotiation.
Physical verification is a precondition to the valuation estimate, so blocked access stops the exercise. Correspondence and orders rarely resolve it; engagement does. The RP must handle this before valuers can work — and document every step, because the 47-day clock does not stop.
Why it happens, and why it is rational
Employees of a distressed company are usually months in arrears. When the company enters CIRP, they see professionals arriving to catalogue and value assets, and they draw an obvious conclusion: the plant is being prepared for sale, and once the machines leave, their claim is worth nothing.
Physical control of the premises is the only real leverage they have. Understanding that is the starting point for resolving it — because the workforce is not asking for something outside the process. Workmen's dues rank at the top of the Section 53 waterfall, alongside secured creditors who relinquish security, for the twenty-four months preceding liquidation commencement. The waterfall →
Their claim is real and it is senior. The dispute is about timing and trust, not entitlement.
What actually works
Engage directly, and early. Meet the workers and their union representatives before attempting entry with a team of valuers. An RP who first appears alongside strangers with clipboards has confirmed the fear rather than addressed it.
Explain the process honestly. That valuation is a statutory requirement, that it precedes any decision, that a resolution — if one is achieved — is far more likely to preserve employment than liquidation, and that their dues have priority in the distribution.
Register their claims properly. Employees are creditors. Getting claims filed and admitted converts an adversarial relationship into a procedural one, and gives the workforce a stake in the process running properly.
Offer visibility. Allowing a worker representative to accompany the verification addresses the fear that assets will disappear, and costs nothing. It also produces a second witness to the custody record.
Be realistic about what you can promise. An RP cannot guarantee payment. Promising outcomes to obtain access creates a worse problem later.
Protecting the timeline while you resolve it
The valuation deadlines run from the insolvency commencement date regardless. Regulation 27 →
So run these in parallel with the negotiation:
- appoint the valuers anyway, within the statutory window — appointment is not conditional on access;
- have them begin on desk work and off-site sources — filings, registries, lender records;
- document every attempt at access, dated, with who was present and what was said;
- escalate where engagement fails — to the CoC, and where necessary to the Adjudicating Authority;
- verify what can be verified, and record precisely what could not.
What the valuation report should say
- which assets were not physically verified, specifically;
- the reason — access denied, and the period;
- what was relied on instead;
- the effect on the estimate;
- confirmation that verification will be completed when access is obtained, if the report is issued in the interim.
A report that quietly presents estimates for assets nobody saw is the defective one. Why desk valuation fails →
Key takeaways
- The obstruction is rational. Workers are protecting a senior claim.
- Engage before arriving with valuers, not after.
- Register employee claims early — it changes the relationship.
- Offer a worker representative at verification. It costs nothing.
- Do not promise payment. It creates a worse problem.
- Appoint valuers on time regardless — appointment is not conditional on access.
- Document every attempt on the day.
Read next
- Physical Site Inspection: Why Desk Valuation Fails Under IBC
- CIRP Valuation Timeline: Regulation 27 and 35 Step by Step
- Liquidation Process: Waterfall Mechanism Under Section 53
- Valuing a Debtor Whose Records Have Been Seized
Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026. General guidance only — employee claims and access disputes are fact-specific.