20,000 HAL employees to go on indefinite strike from today after talks fail over wage revision
Bengaluru, Oct 14: Around 20,000 employees of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will go on an 'indefinite strike' from Monday as talks held by the management over the unions' demands including wage revision, ended in a failure.
While the HAL on Sunday said workers decided to go ahead with the "indefinite strike" despite it making "all out efforts" to avert it, an apex body of the employees unions said the management 'refused' to consider their "fair and reasonable demands".
The employees unions of the city-headquartered HAL have served notice at all locations of the Defence PSU to go on the indefinite strike from October 14 with regard to settlement of wage revision effective from January 1, 2017.
The HAL in a release said it held conciliatory talks on Saturday and Sunday in a bid to avert the strike and offered to enhance allowance under the cafeteria system and revised rate of fitment benefit at 11 per cent among others.
"Despite the management's concerted efforts towards bringing an amicable/early wage settlement, unions unfortunately have adopted a recalcitrant approach and did not accept the offer and decided to resort to indefinite strike; in spite of management's appeal not to resort to an indefinite strike and resolve the issue in a spirit of accommodation," HAL said.
It
said
the
latest
round
of
talks,
11th
in
the
series
of
meetings
held
so
far,
were
conducted
keeping
in
view
the
overwhelming
sentiment
amongst
majority
of
the
employees
for
amicable
and
expeditious
resolution
of
the
issues
and
the
overall
interest
of
the
organisation.
During
the
talks,
a
stock
of
issues
settled
and
a
few
pending
issues
was
taken
up
and
the
management
also
offered
to
enhance
allowances
under
cafeteria
system
and
revised
rate
of
fitment
benefit
at
11
per
cent,
the
release
said.
The wage negotiation committee also apprised the unions the ill-effects of resorting to any strike jeopardising the interest of the employees and organisation and the nation at large, it added.
The All-India HAL Trade Unions' Co-ordination Committee (AIHALTUCC) said the decision to launch the strike was taken at a meeting held under the chairmanship of the Committee chief convenor Suryadevara Chandrasekhar.
The AIHALTUCC which met here "took stock of the situation arising out of the management's refusal to consider the fair and reasonable demands of the unions in regard to wage revision."
It resolved that all workmen in all the HAL divisions will be commencing their indefinite strike from Monday as decided earlier.
A resolution adopted at the meeting appealed to all workmen to fully participate in the indefinite strike and make it a "historical success," a release from AIHALTUCC, which comprises nine recognised unions, said.