HAL workers go on indefinite relay hunger strike over wages
Bengaluru, Jun 25: About 500 employees of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited went on an indefinite relay hunger strike here from Tuesday, demanding settlement of wages and also salaries on par with other public sector undertakings.
"We have not got our wages settled since 2017. We are on a relay hunger strike for an indefinite period. Its throughout the nine units across seven states," chief convenor of all the unions Suryadevara Chandrasekhar told PTI.
The union leader said the management was not coming forward for wage settlement on par with what the executives got.
"Their (executives) settlement happened in November 2017. Our negotiations continued but it wasn't fruitful.
Hence, the deadlock," he said.
However, the HAL said, Most of their (unions) contention were untenable. The claim of the unions that the HAL management is deliberately delaying wage settlement and that offers given to them are meagre, is not true, as nine rounds of discussions have already been held."
The company said in a statement there was no justification and rationale in the demand of the unions to extend the benefits such as fitment benefit and allowances, on par or more than executives, when salary revision of executives was effected from January 1, 2017 after the stipulated 10-year period.
The PSU's management believes that workers wage revision from January 1, 2017 can only be achieved with the co-operation of the unions, based on realistic and affordable expectations, the company said.
The increase in respect of officers with effect from January 1, 2017 needs to be compared with the base of January 1, 2007, the state-owned firm said.
It added that the workmen got two wage revisions of five years periodicity during the same span.
The revision needs to be settled keeping in view the increase derived by the officers from the 2007 scales to the 2017 scales and by the workmen from the 2007 scales to the 2012 scales and now 2012 to the 2017 scales, HAL said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Death toll in Mundathikode fireworks explosion rises to 16
Thrissur (Kerala) (PTI): One more person who had been hospitalised following the Mundathikode fireworks explosion died at Thrissur Medical College on Sunday, police said.
With this, the death toll in the incident has risen to 16.
According to Thrissur Medical College police, the deceased has been identified as Unnikrishnan from Edappal, who was among the 38 persons present at the fireworks manufacturing unit in Mundathikode where the explosions occurred on April 21.
Police said Unnikrishnan had suffered over 80 per cent burns and had remained in critical condition.
The condition of the two other injured persons remains critical, police said.
Of the 38 persons present at the site, 16 have died, while four remain missing.
The fireworks were being manufactured for Thiruvambady Devaswom as part of the Thrissur Pooram festivities.
The licensee of the unit had also suffered burn injuries and had died earlier.
