Lockout notices withdrawn at Bosch plants

Automotive component major Bosch Ltd today withdrew its notice of a lockout at its main plant here. In addition, the management agreed to lift the lockout already affected at its Naganathapura plant, located on the outskirts of the city.

The decision came after a tripartite meeting between the management, the official trade union, Mico Karmikara Sangha (MKS) and the labour commissioner. The meeting was held here this evening.

The lockout, which shut the Naganathapura plant for four days, including today, would be lifted from the first shift on Saturday. The workers agreed to return to work, company sources said. “We have withdrawn the notice to declare a lockout at our main plant in the city, as conciliation talks with the workers’ union are at an advanced stage and things are looking better,” company sources had said earlier.

Workers sought govt help
Earlier in the day, employees of Bosch Ltd at the company’s Naganathapura plant sought immediate intervention of the state government on the lockout. They claimed it was illegal, as the management did not follow the required legal procedure for declaring it. “We have written to the state labour minister, B N Bachegowda, to intervene immediately and prohibit the lockout under Section 10(B) of the Industrial Disputes Act,” had said S Prasanna Kumar, president of the official trade union, MKS.

He claimed the management was carrying out a misinformation campaign about the union’s demands. “In our demands submitted to the management at the time of negotiations over a wage revision, we had asked for a rise of 25 per cent in salaries, which amounts to about Rs 8,000 per person and not Rs 15,000 as informed by the management,” Kumar told reporters.

The auto component major and MKS – which represents 3,500 employees at the company’s two plants – have locked horns since January 2009 over a new wage accord, after the previous accord expired on December 31, 2008.

“Even after 14 rounds of discussions over the last 14 months, the management has refused to meet our demands, which is based on the consumer price index (CPI) and the high profit it made in 2008 and 2009, despite a slowdown,” Kumar said.

According to him, the workers had demanded the management expedite negotiations without wasting more time. He also demanded that supervisors not be deployed at the machines, as it was a clear violation of work practices at the company. He said workers were prepared to work on Sundays to meet customers’ requirement.