Bengaluru: Ailing HMT to be recast; nearly 3k watchmakers may lose job

September 2, 2015

Bengaluru, Sep 2: Time is ticking away for thousands employees of the ailing state-run HMT, formerly Hindustan Machine Tools, as they face uncertain future due to an imminent closure of some of its loss-making watch subsidiaries despite talks of a golden handshake.

HMT

Known once as "Timekeeper of the Nation", the state-run behemoth is set to lay off 2,900 of its staff, including 1,091 from its twin-watch units and a bearing factory to turn around its fortunes with 1,600 blue collar workforce.

"As we plan to retain about 1,600 employees in other two subsidiaries after closing the three subsidiaries, we will soon offer an attractive Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to 2,900 of the total 4,500 workforce," HMT group chairman S. Girish Kumar told media persons here.

"Post-restructuring, we plan to have nine verticals, including machine tools, bio-medical equipment, tractors and watches in small quantity," Kumar said.

With the Narendra Modi government deciding in December to shut down the three loss-making subsidiaries and merge the remaining two into a holding firm, a one-time voluntary retirement scheme, estimated at around Rs.25-55 lakh for each employee, is being worked out.

But P.S. Chandrasekhar, president of the HMT Head Office Employees Association, is livid.

"This is not new. The government has been using the lure of VRS for two years but it has not delivered on it. It is neither giving VRS nor salaries for the past 17 months," Chandrasekhar told media persons.

The three subsidiaries -- HMT Watches in Bengaluru, HMT Chinar Watches at Ranibagh in Uttarakhand and HMT Bearings at Hyderabad in Telangana -- are saddled with 1,091 employees, who have not been paid salaries over the last 17 months or since April 2014.

The watch subsidiary, with 1,004 employees, has two factories in Bengaluru, one at Tumkur, 70 km from here, and another at Ranibagh. The Chinar unit, with 31 employees, has a defunct factory at Srinagar in Kashmir and an assembly unit at Jammu, while the Bearing arm has 56 employees.

During the past four years, 835 employees left the 62-year-old enterprise, availing of the liberal VRS package, based on the 2007 revised wages, as against the 1992 pay-scale, on which salaries have been paid over the last two decades.

Though some employees have availed the offer, many desire not to leave their jobs.

"I do not want VRS. I want to work until I retire. I wish to complete my service with dignity and retain my respect in society and among relatives," said K.M.

Lakshminarayana, employee of HMT Watches, with 18 months of service left.

"There are 100 employees with 7-10 years of service left, 400-500 employees with less than five years and not many with less than two years. They will lose all those years of earnings. Who will give them a job at 50 years of age after availing VRS?" queried Lakshminarayana.

The other two subsidiaries -- HMT Machine Tools and HMT International -- will be restructured to support the government's "Make in India" flagship programme by rolling out more products and generating more employment, officials said.

The machine tools subsidiary, which also makes tractors, has five factories in Bengaluru, two each at Kalamassery in Kerala and Hyderabad, and one each at Ajmer in Rajasthan, at Pinjore in Haryana and at Mohali in Punjab.

The only profit-making HMT International arm was set up here in 1974 to export manufactured goods and offer consultancy in engineering and technical services from concept to commissioning on a turnkey basis.

"The restructuring exercise will also span our business portfolio, marketing and finance to turn competitive and profitable again," Kumar said.

Admitting that the company had hired more employees than it required over the years, Kumar said the company could not compete with lean and mean private firms (like Titan), thriving in the liberalisation era since 1991.

As a result, the watch subsidiary, which was churning out a whopping two million quartz and analog watches yearly till the 1990s, had an accumulated loss of Rs.2,252-crore and total liability of Rs.2,308 crore till fiscal 2012-14.

"HMT did not upgrade its technology. It is still using the same 1965 technology to make watches," said Chandrasekhar, who worked for 37 years with HMT International and is also the general secretary of the National Confederation of HMT Employees Union.

According to a source, HMT has an inventory of 80,000 watches in its warehouses at Jalahalli in Bengaluru. The company also receives institutional orders for watches in the range of 1,000-2,000 watches sometimes. Mysore University ordered nearly 1,200 watches recently.

The holding company (HMT Ltd) and its international arm, however, reported a profit of Rs.87 crore and Rs.4.5 crore, while four other arms posted a combined loss of Rs.352 crore in fiscal 2013-14.

As the company has a whopping 1,400 acres of prime lands in states where it has plants, it is approaching the ministry to clear all long-term liabilities by monetising the surplus ones and return those it leased from state governments.

"The government considers HMT as a strategic sector in view of its ambitious 'Make in India' initiative to attract global investments into the country, increase the manufacturing sector's contribution to the GDP (gross domestic product) and generate thousands of jobs," Kumar added.

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News Network
March 28,2024

fire.jpg

Mangaluru, Mar 28: A fish meal factory in the Baikampady Industrial area in Mangaluru was gutted in a fire incident on Thursday, officials said.

The factory is owned by the company 'Shihar Enterprises', they said.

According to the locals, the fire was first noticed at 4.45 am today, which was immediately reported to the fire department.

The fire engines reached the spot and tried to douse the fire, but it had already spread to other parts of the factory. After almost four hours of fire-fighting operation, the blaze was completely doused, officials.

The reason for the blaze is still being probed, the fire department officials said, adding that they suspect an electric short circuit could have triggered it.

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News Network
March 15,2024

water.jpg

Bengaluru, Mar 15: Work from home to using toilets in malls, residents of India's 'Silicon Valley' Bengaluru are exploring all options to combat the unprecedented water crisis. People across various neighbourhoods have been forced to order food from restaurants and take bath on alternate days due to the water scarcity.

Even those in high-rise apartments equipped with water harvesting systems now find themselves reliant on water tankers for basic needs, leading to stringent usage restrictions.

Eateries are mulling over use of disposable cups, glasses and plates to avoid excess use of water.

Educational institutions are also feeling the pinch. Recently, a coaching centre in the city asked its students to attend classes online due to an 'emergency' for a week. Similarly, a school on Bannerghatta Road was also closed, asking students to attend classes online just like they did during the Covid pandemic.

Residents have come with up new methods to try and conserve water. With temperature rising, it is difficult to avoid a daily shower but they are left with no option but to take bath on alternative days, said Sujatha, a resident of KR Puram.

"What to do? Clean vessels, cook food, wash clothes....so, we have started using paper plates, that way we have cut down on our water usage. And we order food twice a week. We are using the washing machine only once in a week now," she said.

Some others have resorted to visiting a mall to take a shower or use the toilet facilities.

Lakshmi V, an IT professional living in Singasandra, has been requesting her firm to allow WFH option so that she and her family can temporarily shift to her native place in Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu until the situation becomes better.

"If the situation persists, we are thinking of seeking a work from home option. We are planning to move to our native place in Tamil Nadu temporarily till rain arrives here," she said.

Bengaluru primarily gets its water supply from two sources - Cauvery river and groundwater. For most non-drinking uses, recycled water processed by sewage treatment plants is used. With no rain for a while now, the primary sources have been stretched to their limits. Bengaluru needs 2,600-2,800 million litres of water daily, and the current supply is half of what's required. The result is a daily struggle for the city's residents.

The brunt is also being borne by people living in the outskirts of Bengaluru, especially in 110 villages that were merged with the city in 2007.

The crisis has also turned into a political battle between the state's ruling Congress government and the opposition BJP with Lok Sabha just weeks away. While the BJP has held several protests blaming the government, the Congress has accused the BJP-ruled federal government of not providing financial assistance to drought-hit Karnataka.

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News Network
March 16,2024

Mangaluru: In the wake of complaints regarding middlemen menace, sleuths of Lokayukta on Friday, March 15, conducted a raid at the Mangaluru Urban Development Authority. 

The Lokayukta team found unaccounted money and several files, which were not disposed of for a long period.

Lokayukta SP CA Simon said that the Lokayukta has received complaints that middlemen have been interfering in the MUDA office, and files pertaining to the public are not being cleared on time.

A raid that commenced in the evening on March 13, lasted for 18 hours. During the raid, Lokayukta officials found cash in a bag in MUDA office, and also with officials and others. MUDA officials could not inform the source of money found in their office, the SP said.

Further, he said that many people gathered at the MUDA office during the Lokayukta raid, and have raised complaints about the harassment at the urban development authority. “We have gathered evidence for MUDA officials carrying out file disposal processes through brokers on phone calls. The investigation on the MUDA network will be continued,” he said.

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