MP blames Jaitley for plight of HAL workers

Pimpri Chinchwad: Maval MP Shrirang Barne blamed union finance minister Arun Jaitley for the delay in approving al of a Rs 670.46 crore revival package for the public sector pharmaceutical company Hindustan Antibiotics Limited (HAL).
Speaking at a meeting of HAL employees in Pimpri on Friday, Barne said, "HAL has not received any help from the union government as yet.The revival package has been forwarded to the union cabinet by the ministry of chemical and fertilisers for approval but it has been delayed. The union chemical ministry is positive but the finance ministry has been discriminative against the employees," Barne is also the president of Hindustan Antibiotics Mazdoor Sangh (HAMS)."The union chemical ministry is positive but the finance ministry has been discriminative against the employees have not received their salaries for 17 months. HAL workers are still silent'', he said.
General secretary of HAMS Sunil Pataskar added, "The government is neglecting the workers. It is responsible for the misery of the 1,000-odd employees."
Meanwhile, the former general secretary of HAMS Arun Borhade blamed the management for the delay in approval for the revival package. The meeting ended abruptly without taking any decision. This agitated the assembled employees who rushed to the dais in a bid to be heard. Some employees warned that a severe agitation should be held.
The employees said they are facing severe hardships as they have not received salaries close to a year and a half. "We cannot pay the fees for children or even the medical bills that have been piling up," an employee said.
Earlier this month, the state government promised all help to the company. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis assured a HAL delegation that it will take up the issue with the centre for revival of the company. Fadnavis had said to the delegation that the state government would take a decision to provide financial assistance to the company after discussions with various stake holders.
In March, the HAL management had sent a letter to the state government requesting financial assistance worth Rs 44 crore to restart production with available infrastructure.
The company was declared sick and referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction in 1997. It received funds worth Rs 132 crore after ten years and the proposal for a rehabilitation package was submitted five years later. The HAL management said said that if the package is approved, new plants would be set up and a voluntary retirement scheme would be introduced for 500 employees.