Manesar lockout ends on Tuesday, 500 sacked

Even as India’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki, on Thursday said it would lift the month-long lockout and resume production at the violence-hit Manesar unit from Tuesday, it sacked a third of its permanent workforce at the facility.

The company said it would no longer employ contract workers in production activities and would conduct a screening of the 1,869 workers hired on contract from September 2. Those deemed “fit” by Maruti Suzuki would be absorbed as permanent workers. The company would employ a fifth of its workforce on short-term agreements for non-core activities.

R C Bhargava, chairman, said, “We plan to lift the lockout and resume partial production from August 21. Our officials who were injured in the incident on July 18 and others who managed to escape have identified workers who were involved in the violence. We have lost confidence in them and have issued termination notices to over 500 such employees. It is possible that once more people are identified more notices will be sent out.” Maruti Suzuki has 1,528 permanent workers at Manesar.

MARUTI'S LABOUR PLAN

• JULY 18 Workers riot at Manesar plant, an HR manager killed, parts of the factory burnt down
   
• JULY 21 Maruti declares lockout, threatens to de-recognise union
   
• JULY 23 A mahapanchayat of more than 100 villages voices support for Maruti
   
• JULY 24 Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda  promises speedy investigation
   
• JULY 26 Maruti runs out of stock of premium hatchback Swift and DZire sedan, demand continues
   
• August 16 Maruti says plant to reopen on August 21

The company would commence production work with 300-odd permanent workers under heavy police protection and manufacture about 150 cars on Tuesday. The unit used to manufacture around 1,600 vehicles every day before it was closed.

The company declined to specify the number of workers it was looking at hiring to scale up production to optimum levels but said it would have to begin recruitment to fill the places of those sacked in connection with the violence.