Maruti unrest escalates, unions mobilise workers

5,000 union members from Gurgaon-Manesar belt to join protest today.

The strife between the management and workers at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd’s (MSIL’s) Manesar plant has escalated, with about 5,000 labour union workers in the Gurgaon-Manesar belt set to join the protesting workers in solidarity.

D L Sachdeva, secretary, All India Trade Union Congress, on Wednesday said, “The unions, in their meeting yesterday, decided they would assemble in front of the Manesar plant on Thursday to express solidarity with the protesting workers. The workers at Maruti have decided not to give in to the management’s requirement to sign a ‘good conduct’ bond before resuming work.”
 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF TROUBLE

• More than 2,000 workers at Manesar plant go on strike in mid June
• Workers seek permission to form new union, demand the management take back five dismissed workers
• Strike ends after 11 days as management reinstates workers
• Haryana govt rejects Manesar workers’ application for a new union
• Workers go on a day’s tool-down strike in late July
• Management says quality suffering since the end of June strike; says on August 29 workers must sign ‘good conduct’ bond
• Only 22 workers sign bond on Day 1 (40-odd till Wednesday); strike ensues
• 16 permanent workers suspended on Tuesday (21 suspended on Monday), 12 trainees expelled
• Production resumes with contract labour; unions pledge support to strike

There are about 40 labour unions in the Gurgaon-Manesar region. “All major unions, including those of Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, Sona Koyo Steering and Rico Auto, have decided to participate in the protest,” added Sachdeva.

Even as tension between the management and workers continued for the third day, MSIL, India’s biggest car maker, on Wednesday resumed operations at the plant with the help of 120-odd skilled workers it hired on contract. In addition, 50 engineers from the nearby Gurgaon plant and 290 supervisors are working at the Manesar facility. At least another 80 contract workers will join work.

“We began assembly operations at Manesar this morning. The factory was able to roll out its first Swift since production came to a halt on Monday,” said an MSIL spokesperson.

Over the last two days, half a dozen teams have been streamlining processes, strengthening quality systems and conducting detailed trials to ramp up production.

Yesterday, the company had put in place contingency measures and started pre-assembly work by operating the weld shop, press shop and paint shop at the facility with the help of some line managers and shop-floor supervisors. Production at the Manesar plant had been at a complete halt since Monday after the company demanded the workers sign a ‘good conduct’ bond before entering the factory.

The management has alleged the quality and quantity of cars produced at the Manesar plant have been suffering since the factory’s 1,600 workers ended a 13-day strike in mid-June.

So far, 40-odd permanent workers have signed the bond, the spokesperson said.

Yesterday, MSIL suspended 16 permanent workers and discontinued the services of 12 trainees. This is in addition to the 21 workers it suspended and dismissed on Monday. Vehicle production at the plant was completely affected on Monday and Tuesday, with the company suffering an estimated production loss of 2,400 units, valued at nearly Rs 80 crore, in this period.