Pawans Hans has told its employees, ‘No salaries for April’

The state-owned enterprise has said that salaries for April have been deferred until 60 percent of its outstanding dues are recovered

New Delhi: Pawan Hans has told its employees in an internal circular that it will not be able to pay them salaries for the month of April because of its "uncomfortable financial position." The circular also said that there has been a serious mismatch in the public sector undertaking's (PSU) revenue income. The state-owned enterprise has said that salaries for April have been deferred until 60 percent of its outstanding dues are recovered.

Only those employees involved directly in the production will get their salaries, the PSU said in the circular. The company also plans to cut costs and prevent deficiency in operations with contribution from its workforce.

Employee union hits back

The employee union has hit back at the management's decision, calling it 'inhuman.' They also wore black ribbons to register protest against the decision. "It is inhuman to stop the salaries of workers who all are due for wage revision," the union said. They also claimed that the PSU was paying its executives with arrears and was deferring salaries only for other employees.

The union has warned that if their salaries are not paid, they will approach the CAG and CBI over the financial problem.

Pawan Hans' reported Rs 89-cr net loss in FY19

In FY19, Pawan Hans posted a net loss of Rs 89 crores as its revenue took a hit. In the circular, the PSU attributed its inability to pay salaries on time to a serious mismatch in its revenue income, which is based on its business volume and its expenses. The expenses primarily comprise of staff salaries.

According to reports, Pawan Hans already has an outstanding amount of over Rs 230 crore lying with customers. The government had tried to disinvest its entire stake in the company in 2018 but had failed to find any buyers. The company currently has 46 helicopters.