National trade Unions stand up for PSU communications & engineering workers who made India’s space programme possible

28th August 2023

Press Release

The Platform of Central Trade Unions and Independent Sectoral Federations/Associations salutes the team of Engineers, Scientists, Communications Experts and so on, who made Chandrayaan-3 possible. Their undaunted work has opened up myriad possibilities for India to forge ahead in many fields.

As the story of Chandrayaan-3 unfolds, heart-rending stories of those who worked selflessly for the project emerge: Thousands of Engineers and Workers of Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC), Ranchi, Jharkhand, a public sector undertaking, who have designed and manufactured the mobile launch pad and other important equipment that made Chandrayaan-3 possible, have not been paid for the past 17 months! ISRO scientists and engineers have worked without any promotions!

The communication that was crucial for Chandrayaan-3 project was handled exclusively by BSNL, another PSU, deliberately being strangled by the Central Government.

That the entire project was handled by PSUs is not surprising. In fact, the PSUs in India were established because their products (machinery) had a long gestation period, in which the private sector was not ready to invest. They wanted quick assured profits.

The story of HEC employees brings to mind the saga of ASHA and Anganwadi workers who worked selflessly during the covid pandemic, only to earn cudos as "Frontline Warriors" but no increase in their miserable monthly honorarium!

Will the Prime Minister be truthful to admit that it is the Public Sector that is the backbone of our nation - from bringing up healthy children to exploring the outer space! It is the PSUs which have been robbed of thousands of crores of rupees to erect huge statues, while starving the PSU employees, getting all priorities wrong.

We demand that the Central Government immediately release the dues of HEC Employees as well as the promotions due to the engineers and scientific cadres at ISRO as well as at other units who played their significant role in this project as India celebrates their contributions.

INTUC AITUC HMS CITU AIUTUC TUCC SEWA AICCTU LPF UTUC
And Independent Sectoral Federations/Associations