Hero wage talks inconclusive, 'hard' decision today

Sources indicate calling for a stoppage of work in the Gurgaon region is a possibility

With pay rise talks between management and workers at Hero MotoCorp’s Gurgaon factory making no progress on Monday, heads of the staff union hinted at a “hard decision” tomorrow.

The state government’s labour department took an initiative in on Monday’s talks, trying to broker a settlement, to no avail. Bhim Rao, general secretary, Hero MotoCorp Workers’ Union (HMCWU), said , “The labour authorities held separate meetings with the workers and the management on Monday. But the company is refusing to budge from their stance. We have a meeting with other union leaders of the Gurgaon belt tomorrow. A hard decision has to be taken.”

Sources indicated calling for a ‘bandh’ (stoppage of work) in the Gurgaon region was a possibility.

The five union representatives at the Gurgaon unit had last week gone on a four-day hunger strike to press the workers’ demands. The strike was called off yesterday, after intervention from other trade union leaders in the region. A demonstration was held on Monday outside Gurgaon’s administrative centre, the Mini Secretariat, and a fresh charter of demands for government intervention given to the district’s sub-divisional magistrate.

Workers at the Gurgaon unit have been agitating for about two months, sporting black armbands and not taking the subsidised tea and snacks offered by the company. The employees want a pay rise of Rs 15,000 a month, spread over three years. The management is reluctant to go beyond a rise of Rs 7,500-9,000 a month. Talks have been on for six months.

In January, workers at Gurgaon were reported to have slowed production operations and showcause notices were issued to six members of the union, asking why action should not be taken against them for disrupting output. The workers also held a ‘gate meeting’ on February 12, where a strike was discussed as a final resort. The meeting was attended by members of the CITU, INTUC and AITUC worker bodies, beside union members from the factories of Maruti Suzuki and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India.

Hero MotoCorp has a factory each at Gurgaon, Dharuhera (both in Haryana) and Hardwar. The Gurgaon unit rolls out 6,000-7,000 two-wheelers daily.

The company employs around 1,200 permanent workers and 4,000 contract workers at Gurgaon. The average salary of a permanent worker at Gurgaon is around Rs 32,000 a month.