Ranchi, May 18: In a significant development, representatives of five major unions at Heavy Engineering Corporation Limited, Ranchi, who had served a strike notice for May 25, today agreed to call off their strike following intervention of state labour minister Bhanu Pratap Sahi.

The development comes as a welcome breather for HEC, which over the past one-and-a-half months, has been in the grip of intense labour unrest with workers demanding immediate implementation of their 1997 wage agreement and withdrawal of the productivity-linked wage scheme launched since last month.

Today’s a deal was clinched in course of a tripartite talks presided by Sahi at his official chambers at Nepal House and was attended by HEC director (personnel) M.R. Venugopal along with senior officials and representatives of major HEC labour unions.

During the talks, Sahi directed HEC to take up the matter relating to the workers’ demand for implementation of the 1997 wage agreement with the union heavy industries department on a priority basis to ensure that industrial harmony was restored at the earliest. Sahi pleaded that HEC be given time till June 15 for HEC to sort out the issue in consultation with the Centre.