CITU urges Rajnath to stop HAL terminating 1,050 tenure-based workers

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has urgently requested the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to intervene and halt the termination of approximately 1,050 “tenure-based” workmen at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bengaluru. In a letter dated January 5, 2026, the CITU General Secretary, Elamaram Kareem, Ex-MP, Stated that the premier defence public sector undertaking devised a “Scheme for Engagement of Personnel on Tenure Basis” in 2015.

This scheme, which the CITU calls a means of “exploiting” unemployed youths , was allegedly implemented instead of hiring permanent workmen for perennial vacancies in core manufacturing and technical functions. The trade union argues that the scheme was conceived and executed in “utter defiance” of HAL’s own Certified Standing Orders, which do not include this category of workmen.

The 1,050 workers currently facing termination were reportedly recruited since 2016 after successfully completing a comprehensive selection process, including written tests, medical examinations, and personal interviews, and were selected in accordance with reservation policies. The CITU asserts that these workmen have toiled alongside permanent staff, performing “identical technical tasks of a permanent nature” on the same projects and machinery. Many have rendered continuous service for between 8 to 10 years but without job security or basic rights.

The crisis began when the HAL management issued an official communication, dated December 9, 2025, indicating that the existing tenure-based workmen were to be replaced with a new set of tenure-based employees, which the union claims is “impermissible under law”. A second similar circular was issued on December 12, 2025.

Based on these circulars, many of the workmen have already been served notice of termination, threatening the “very survival of hundreds of workmen and their families”. The union contends that HAL intends to terminate all these workmen and replace them.

The CITU describes HAL’s action as “illegal, unfair,” and constituting a “gross unfair labour practice”. Furthermore, the union States that the terminations are “violative of the fundamental rights under Articles 14, 16, 21, and 23 of the Constitution”. They highlight that there is a huge manpower shortage at HAL, meaning there is no justification to terminate the workers.

The CITU General Secretary and President Sudip Dutta requested the Defence Minister’s “immediate intervention to rescind this illegal termination of services to uphold justice, the rule of law, and the dignity of labour in a premier national defence enterprise”. The union expressed trust that the Minister’s office would act swiftly to “rectify this serious anomaly and uphold the principles of a fair justice and ensure that the HAL acts as a model employer”.