Hero workers reject wage hike offer

We are protesting peacefully and giving the company time to reconsider their offer: emploee union

In what may strain relations between the workers and the management at Hero MotoCorp’s Gurgaon unit, in the latest round of negotiations the employees’ union has rejected the revised offer of the company to hike wages by Rs 7,500 at the factory.

A representative of the employees’ union at Hero MotoCorp’s Gurgaon unit said, “The management is offering us only Rs 1,000 higher than Rs 6,500 given in wage increase over a three-year period at the Dharuhera plant. It is less than half of what we have been asking for. We are protesting peacefully and giving the company time to reconsider their offer. If they do not relent, we will think of further action.” The workers at the unit have been sporting black arm-bands and have abstained from taking tea within the premises for over 15 days.

The employees have been asking for a similar increment as at Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India’s (HMSI) Manesar unit, where a 50 per cent wage hike of Rs 14,770 in monthly salary was announced recently.

Hero MotoCorp employs around 1,200 permanent workers and 4,000 contract workers at its Gurgaon facility. The average salary of a permanent worker at Gurgaon currently is around Rs 32,000 which goes up to as much as Rs 38,000 for more experienced employees.

A person in know of the talks said, “Hero was the leading paymaster in the auto industry prior to the wage hikes at Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and HMSI. So it is difficult for them to give increments similar to what has been offered by other companies. Also, if the wage increase at Gurgaon is significantly higher than that given to workers at Dharuhera, it would create dissent within workers in the company.” The employees at the Gurgaon unit, however, have become restless due to slow progress in wage talks which have been on since August 2012.