H D Kumaraswamy assures HMT employees of settling Rs 361 crore dues

Bengaluru: Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy assured current and ex-employees of Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) of clearing Rs 361 crore pending payments and retirement settlements.

After his meeting with representatives of the current and retired HMT employees, Kumaraswamy said that he will soon discuss with the officials of the ministry and resolve the problem.

During the meeting, the current and ex-employees of HMT have informed the minister about unpaid salaries, non-settlement of gratuity, provident fund and other pending financial benefits. 

After hearing their grievances, Kumaraswamy said, "I will discuss this with senior officials of the ministry and explore solutions to clear Rs 361 crore pending dues to the employees."

He said there are two challenges before him. "Reviving HMT is one of the biggest challenges. Settling financial benefits due for the current and retired employees is another challenge. I will put my sincere efforts to resolve the issues," he assured.