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Hindustan Motors mulls legal moves to go ahead with lay-offs in Bengal

Hindustan Motors today announced that it was exploring legal options on the lay-off plan pursuant to the West Bengal government yesterday rejecting its plea to retrench workers at its Uttarapara plant.

Expressing surprise over the rejection, the company, in a statement said, it was now taking legal opinion on the matter, especially as on two past occasions decisions have gone in its favour.

''HM maintains its stand on the need for lay-offs at the Uttarpara plant. Over the past few months, we have undertaken several initiatives towards making the plant competitive and cost-effective. Our recent investment of Rs 750 million towards a modernisation programme at the Uttarpara plant is indicative of our strong commitment. However, rationalisation of our workforce too in the current recessionary conditions is imperative," Ravi Santhanam, executive vice president of Hindustan Motors said.

The petition was initially filed by him in November 1998 to the state government when the Indian automobile industry was in the throes of severe recessionary conditions.

The Calcutta high court had earlier set aside the state government's order and remanded the matter to the government for reconsideration. Besides, the single division bench of the Calcutta high court had directed the government to refer the matter to the tribunal. This clearly indicates the merit in the lay-off application, the statement said.

UNI

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