Retired HMT employees await retirement benefits; coordinator says more than 40 colleagues died without receiving dues

In a prolonged saga, scores of retired employees of HMT Machine Tools Limited in Hyderabad, a Government of India undertaking, continue to wait for their rightful retirement benefits even six years after leaving the service.

Many of them, now elderly and ailing, allege that they were denied basic entitlements such as gratuity, provident fund, and leave encashment, despite serving in the unit for over two to four decades.

The affected retirees, who stepped down from service in or after 2018, say that their repeated appeals to government departments have been met with silence. “More than 40 of our colleagues passed away without receiving a single rupee of their dues. Their families are left helpless and in financial distress, with no accountability from the authorities,” says U. Malyadri, coordinator of HMT Retired Employees Forum.

HMT Machine Tools Limited, once a pillar of India’s engineering and industrial self-reliance, had six units across the country, including the one in Hyderabad. Its employees played a key role in building machine tools that supported the country’s manufacturing sector for decades. However, following restructuring and phased closures, many units ceased operations leaving hundreds of employees in limbo regarding their post-retirement entitlements.

For the retired staff of the Hyderabad unit, the wait has turned into a painful ordeal. “We are senior citizens now. With no pension, no savings, and our retirement funds stuck, we are forced to rely on others for survival,” says Madhukrishna Rao, another coordinator of the Retired Employees Forum urging the Central Government to settle their issues at the earliest.

The retired employees also urged the Ministry of Heavy Industries and the Department of Public Enterprises to look into the matter without further delay.