New Delhi: The employees of Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC), who make equipment for Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), have not received their salaries for almost two years now. According to a report on The Hindu, the 3,000-strong workforce of the public sector undertaking are now forced to “to sell edibles and garments” as they have to engage as part-time daily wage workers, including driving autorickshaws because they have not been paid their rightful salaries for the last 20 months.Several other news organisations have been reporting about it for some time now. According to The Telegraph, over 100 employees of the PSU also protested with a replica of Chandrayaan-3 at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to demand payment of their salaries.HEC Majdoor Union president Bhawan Singh had told Telegraph on September 20 that several Lok Sabha members had stood in solidarity with the Union’s cause. Its members were also trying to meet the Union heavy industries minister Mahendranath Pandey.However, this was not the first time that they were seeking an audience with the minister concerned. Interestingly, Times of India reported in February this year that the minister had assured the Union of taking concrete steps to disburse the salaries of the HEC employees. But, in the month of September, the employees are back to protesting again since the minister’s promise did not materialise. BBC Hindi has reported that the HEC has made several important equipment for ISRO, including the mobile launching pedestal, along with a hammerhead tower crane, a EOT crane, a folding-cum-vertical repositionable platform and horizontal sliding doors. The report clarified that the PSU did not make any machines for the Chandrayaan-3 mission that was launched recently. BBC Hindi quoted a manager at HEC, Purendu Dutt Mishra, saying, “Technically the government would be correct to say that we didn’t make any specific equipment for Chandrayaan-3.”“However, no other company in India makes such launchpads,” he added.With no salaries, employees have been finding it extremely difficult to support their families, the report notes. BBC Hindi quoted an employee, Deepak Uparia, as saying that when he found that making the ends meet had become completely impossible, Deepak and his wife started selling idlis on the street. Maslan Madhur Kumar is selling momos, while Prasanna Bhoi has opened a tea-shop. Deepak has also mortgaged the jewellery of his wife. According to The Hindu, many employees have withdrawn their provident funds too while some have taken loans from friends and relatives. Quoting a reply given in parliament by the Union government in August 2023, BBC Hindi reported that since the HEC is a registered and an independent entity, it is supposed to raise funds for its operations on its own. However, as per the reply, the organisation has been incurring losses for the past five years. In 2023, its loss amount reached Rs 283.58 crore. The absence of modern equipment and full-time leadership has been listed as main reasons for the company performing poorly, as far as the financials are concerned, BBC-Hindi reported in its detailed piece.
