Bosch settles wage talks at Bangalore plant

The management of Bosch Ltd reached an amicable settlement with the employees’ union at its Bangalore plant today. Though details of the settlement were not known, company sources told Business Standard the management had agreed to give an increase of Rs 8,000 per month in their CTC (cost to company), more than double the Rs 3,600 paid in the previous settlement four years ago.

In return, the union assured 100 per cent normalcy in production operations from March 25. A memorandum of understanding is likely to be signed between the two parties on Thursday.

In a joint press statement, Bosch Senior Vice-President Soumithra Bhattacharya and the union’s president N M Adyanthaya said: “The settlement was reached after a long, but fruitful negotiation and we now look forward to reaching normalcy with effect from March 25.”

The settlement is expected to give relief to the auto industry, which had to face some disruption in production due to irregularities in the supply of critical components from the Bangalore plant.

Talks still on at Naganathapura
Wage negotiations with the employees’ union at Bosch’s Naganathapura plant, located on the outskirts of Bangalore, are still on. However, according to company sources, a settlement is expected soon.

“Products as well as working conditions at Naganathapura are different and the union is also different there. We are in an advanced stage of negotiations and hope to conclude the talks very soon,” the sources said.

The workers at both Naganathapura and Bangalore plants of Bosch had launched a go-slow strike from February 12, demanding an increase of Rs 15,000 in their monthly salaries and medical facilities, among others.

As a result of the strike at both units, the company saw a drop of 40 per cent in production, which resulted in a loss of Rs 4 crore per day.