Meeting on Hindustan Motors today

The West Bengal government has called a tripartite meeting between Hindustan Motors (HM) Ltd management and the unions tomorrow.

"We have asked the representatives from the Hindustan Motors management and unions for a tripartite meeting tomorrow," state Labour Minister Mrinal Banerjee said.

Union Labour and Employment Minister Oscar Fernandes, who was in the city to attend a seminar also requested his counterpart in the state to resolve the issue and hoped that a settlement could be reached by tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Hindustan Motors management appealed for restoration of law and order in the plant. "As of today, we are possibly the largest employer in the Hooghly district. The management of Uttarpara plant once again appeals for restoration of law and order so that early resumption of operations becomes feasible," the company spokesperson said.

The company had indefinitely suspended work at the plant from Wednesday morning. The move followed a clash between the labour unions and the police on Tuesday, when the unions prevented the management from taking out the finished products.

The management had earlier issued letters to the registered trade unions inviting them to a meeting on April 8 to sort out disputes. But the meeting, was called off after the company management sought a written commitment from the union that they would restore normalcy ahead of the meeting.