maruthi strike

7/31/2019 maruthi strike

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Across the road from gate-2 of MarutiSuzuki India Limited's Manesar factory,

around 100 workers sit underneath a tent inprotest. They have now been here for overtwo weeks. "The media is nowhere to beseen. The ones who come, only speak tothe company people and leave,"


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In June, Maruti workers demanded for a union but the

management asked them to join the union affiliated to the

Gurgaon plant.

Agitation went on for some suspended colleagues to be takenback, who weren't, which lead to a 13-day strike.

The strike ended after the company took back the workers, but

no decision was taken on the formation of a union.

Soon afterwards, there were large scale incidents of sabotage.

So, in order to ensure product quality, the company insisted

the workers in signing a 'Good Conduct Bond,' which got

refused.


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Company suffered from a loss of - at least Rs 500 crore (Rs 5billion) so far by one account.

Reports suggest that workers at the company's Gurgaon plant

are also thinking of striking in solidarity with their Manesar

brethren. So Maruti would rather bleed cash than give in.

Politicized Unions;

RC Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki India, described the

present stand-off as 'political'.

Moreover, companies have been bestowed rights under Indian

law, which stipulate that they can essentially decide on whomthey decide to talk to or negotiate with.


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In April 2009, at Hyundai Motor India in Tamil

Nadu, workers went on an eighteen-day strike todemand recognition of the employees' union.

Tire maker MRF's Arakkonam unit was closed for

185 days in 2009. Its workers subsequently went on

strike in October 2010 as well as June 2011.


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Auto industry uses cheaper, contract labour, often comprising

of up to fifty per cent of the workforce, which inturn

decreases costs for the auto maker by as much as fifty per cent

Enjoy the benefits of having greater autonomy in choosing

when to lay-off workers in times of a slump

"We don't have to deal with the workers since our point of

contact is only the HR firm." says a senior official

Workers at the Maruti plant say the working conditionsbetween the permanent and contractual workers differ vastly.


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Maruti employs close to 2,500 workers, of which 1,100 are

permanent and the rest consist of workers on contract,apprenticeship and training.

According to Shiv Kumar, president, Maruti Suzuki Employee

Union , an unskilled contract worker is paid Rs 5,500 a month

and a skilled contract worker gets Rs 7,000; a permanent

worker's pay is around Rs 18,000. In Haryana, the minimum wage of an unskilled worker is

fixed at Rs 4,348.A contract worker is not entitled to medical

benefits that a permanent worker gets, or the bus service,

again which only the permanent worker can use. Even difference exists, between the uniform of a permanent

and contract worker.


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Workers say working conditions at the Maruti plant are, ingeneral, 'difficult'.

The eight-hour shift that they are required to work usuallygets extended by an hour

Out of 30-minute lunch break, ten minutes goes in travellingto the canteen.

A seven-minute break is given for tea and using the bathroom. Going on leave becomes almost impossible as Rs 1,500 is

deducted for every day on casual leave from their salary.

Lastyear, we exceeded the targets by working more inthe morning and evening. For every hour that we worked

extra, we were paid Rs 20. What part did we get of theprofit that the company earned by exceeding thetargets?" wonders factory worker Nehra.


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o Striking for a union was the only option left to them.

o According to Tapan Mitra, head of Human resources at ApolloTyres , increased communication between workers and

management, and also trust and confidence between the 'white

and blue collars' would ensure minimum friction in any

company.

o Many times the HR department of the company doesn't

address the grievances of the workers.


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There are laws to ensure that the rights of the contract laborersare protected but they are seldom implemented.

The labor law mandates that any company that has to employ

contract labor needs to obtain a license from the labour

department. The labor department can cancel the license if the

rights of the contract laborers are abused. But, these laws are

very rarely implemented," says Sanjay Upadhyaya, fellow at

the VV Giri National Labor Institute,


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The strike a ended on oct 21 with anagreement to bring back most of the sackhands but with no word on the union theworkers wanted to form


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According to the agreement, the Maruti management will

take back 64 permanent workers who had been sacked duringthe strike and production will resume tomorrow

The fate of 30 other permanent workers, who were suspended,

will be decided later as cases against them were serious.

Enquiry and disciplinary proceedings will be initiated againstthem as per rules. The enquiry will be completed within a

period of 10 days,

The management and Manesar workers have agreed to set up

a committee for grievance redress.

A labour welfare committee will also be formed to promotegood relations between the management and workers


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The company has also agreed to arrange for transport

for the workers in accordance with their shifttimings.

The workers at Suzuki Powertrain India Limited and

Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited will also

resume work tomorrow


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By oct 19,30 suspended workers at Maruti's Manesar plant,

including their two leaders Sonu Gujjar and Shiv Kumar, quit

the company, taking home amounts ranging between Rs 16 lakh

and Rs 40 lakh

The remaining 28, resigned and took home settlement amounts

of around Rs 16 lakh.

At the time of the (strike) settlement, the 30 of us had decidedwe would stick together whatever the consequences. When Sonu

and Shiv resigned despite our reservations, we also followed

suit, says Rishi Pal,a suspended worker

Both the union leaders were unreachable, with 27-year-oldGujjar, who had emerged as an unlikely leader of the agitation

with his diminutive frame and soft voice, reported to have

moved out lock, stock and barrel, according to his erstwhile

compatriots who went to check on him


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Workers are planning criminal case against Gujjar and Kumar

The quiet exit of these 30 workers has left other workers shell-shocked since they had forfeited wages for at least 74 days

during the 59 days of strike since June.,They are traitors! This has caused an irreparable damage to

the workers' union movement, which may be nipped in thebud by the immoral acts of a few self-proclaimed leaders," said

SS Yadav, president of the Suzuki Powertrain India Private Ltd

Employees Union

It's unfortunate that a few leaders have accepted money and

fallen prey to the practices of multinational companies.Though it is an isolated incident, the damaging repercussions

will hurt the trade union movement for a long time."


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Shy, modest and diminutive, his visage does not appear that ofa leader

To observers, Gujjar hardly looks the archetypal firebrand

trade union leader.

he and his band of 900 or so workers at Maruti's Manesar

factory have forced a shutdown in the company's production

and are spawning problems at other plants.

It's a crisis that has thrown Maruti off track when it can least

afford it the auto sector is in the midst of a slowdown.

The crisis has put several jobs on the line and changed theperception of a firm once regarded as a model of good

industrial relations into just another strike-affected company.


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maruthi strike