Bosch hit by tool-down strike again

Second strike during 2013

The main production unit of Bosch (India) Limited, the automobile component major, here continued to reel under labour unrest since Thursday.

The Bosch’s employees’ union  — MICO Employees’ Association (MEA) — has “resorted to an illegal tool down” strike on Thursday, said a statement of the company. This is the second such strike this year.

According to the statement, what triggered the strike was a dispute over a gate pass for an employee, also a union office-bearer, for leaving early from work. When stopped, the employee, who did not provide a valid reason, abused and assaulted the officer. Trade union officials could not contacted to get their version.

The company issued a chargesheet against the ‘assaulter’. This enraged the employees, who decided to go ahead with a strike.

“The company has an effective grievance redressal mechanism, which was not used to resolve the issue," the statement said. The plant employs about  4,000 people and a majority of them had joined the strike, sources said.

"Bosch has always been a fair employer and at the same time, is also firm and committed on matters related to business policies and discipline. Bosch would, therefore, like to reassure all its stakeholders that it stands for its values, legality and governance at all times and under all circumstances," the statement added.

Bosch India had suspended production many times in the past few months to fine-tune its operations.  

The company had earlier announced that it would be shifting its manufacturing operations to Bidadi on the outskirts of Bangalore.

The stock of Bosch India lost 0.31 per cent to close at Rs 8788.50 per share on NSE on Friday.