Strike hits operations in BEL

Bangalore: A countrywide one-day strike by workers of industrial ‘navaratna’ Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) paralysed operations of the company on Thursday. More than 10,000 workers, employed in nine locations, participated in the “total strike,” according to the Bharat Electronics Workers’ Union (BEWU) sources.

Sources in the company also told The Hindu that officers also stayed away from work.

The primary demand of the workers is that the management should agree to include the increments they have earned since December 2006 in the new pay scales being negotiated.

The other major demand is that the management should consider appointment of the next of kin on “compassionate grounds.”

“All 3,200 workers employed in the Bangalore units participated in the strike,” said Gangadhar Bhustalimath, who is the general secretary of the union.

The workers were angry because the management had not revised pay scales for 12 years.