Hindustan Motors pays interim wages to its workers

While growing up, I lived with a fantasy of owning an Amby one day, the classic white beauty with even whiter curtains and gunmen around. But my dreams got shattered as the legend recently took its last breath and became history. After few days of its production suspension at the Uttarpara plant, the latest report from PTI suggests that the Hindustan Motors Ltd. made an interim payment to its workers. The company paid a one-time payment of INR 7,000 each to its 2,600 permanent and 50 contractual workers on Monday. This decision came on the request of the Labour Minister of West Bengal, a statement from the company said.

Yesterday, company's management informed the labour through a notice on the factory gate stating the labours would get the payment in the afternoon. On the whole, the firm owes workers six months' arrears. A spokesperson of Hindustan Motors said, “The company accumulated outstanding liabilities amounting to Rs 94 crore comprising sales tax and other tax dues, salary and wages, electricity bills, land revenue, and bank liabilities.”

"The company has sought the state government's help in enabling the closure on the forge and foundry divestment which requires some approvals from a consortium of lenders which, in turn, will enable it to clear back log on overdue wages," the spokesperson said. However, the spokesperson added that the forging and foundry division constitutes a very small part of the Uttarpara unit. "For the Uttarpara unit we are in look out for strategic investors," he added.

Over this issue, workers said that they were forced to accept this amount, though the company owes them around “ten times” the paid money. While Purnendu Basu, the labour minister said, "The state government is very serious about a settlement at HM. There is no instance of workers getting any pay during suspension of work. I agree that the amount involved is low."

India's oldest car manufacturing company was forced to declare suspension of work at the plant because of severe lack of demand and strained cash flow. The company was also looking for a strategic investor for the revival of the Uttarpara plant. But nothing really worked and ultimately resulted into end of an era.