The strike called by workers of Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC), demanding their due salaries continued on the ninth consecutive day on Friday. Acting CMD, Nalin Singhal, had returned to Delhi from HEC without a second round of talks, which was slated on Thursday with the union leaders. The matter remained in discussion among the workers about what would happen.
“Singhal failed to honour his own words. After promising a second round of talks yesterday after lunch, he took off for New Delhi. He did not act like a senior officer of a company like HEC. He is an escapist and weak officer and he could not solve the problem of the workers,” a workers' union Leader said.
During the strike, a Union president made a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi viral on social media. In the video, Modi is heard expressing his concern over the plight of HEC and talking big for making it a profit-making unit to save the employment of thousands if he voted to power. In the video, he is sharing his experience of saving a government-run fertilizer company of Gujarat.
On Thursday, BHEL Chairman, Dr Nalin Singhal, who has been assigned the additional charge of HEC, reached the State Capital from New Delhi. He arrived in the State Capital to end the workers’ strike which has been going on for the last eight days for demand of dues salary of seven months.
The first round of meeting between Singhal and Union Leaders started at 1pm and ended at 3pm. During the meeting, Singhal requested the Union leaders to extend their cooperation to end the strike saying that the company is passing through a tough phase.
Talking to the trade Union leader, Singhal agreed to take care of the canteen allowance and school fee of the employees but the Union leaders stuck to their demands of salary payment. They were of the opinion that the workers should be paid one month current and one month due salary but till the end of first round the CMD did notagree.
But, before the second round of talk could take place Singhal returned to Delhi which created a matter of concern for the workers of the company.