Karnataka HC directs HAL staff to call off strike

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday directed workers of the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) Ltd to call off their indefinite strike, which entered the ninth day.

"The high court has passed an interim order restraining the HAL Association, its office-bearers and workforce from continuing their ongoing strike, including go-slow, work-to-rule or any form of agitation or disrupting daily activities and its offices in Bengaluru," said the city-based defence major in a statement here.

About 20,000 employees, including 10,000 here, have been on indefinite strike since October 14 for revision of their wages since January 1, 2017.

"It is obligatory for the workforce to call off the strike and resume work, failing which (it) would amount to contempt of the court," said the statement.

The company sought the high court's intervention for withdrawing the strike through a writ petition on October 18, stating that the trade unions had no legal right to go on strike under the Industrial Disputes Act.

The 55-year-old aerospace major has six production complexes in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Koraput in Odisha, Korwa and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh and Nashik in Maharashtra and three research and development (R&D) centres across the country.

The unions have sought a wage revision given to the executives, a gross salary hike of 35 per cent, including 110-140 per cent hike in perks.

The company's 8,000 officers and executives and 11,000 contract workers, however, were not participating in the strike.

The trade union office-bearers and members were waiting for the court's order to decide on their next course of the action.

"We will discuss the court's order and explore options, including legal, for ensuring our demands are met by the company's management," a union leader told IANS here.IANS