Maruti workers junk 'conduct' bond

In a fresh face-off, workers at Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant on Monday rejected the imposition of a ‘good conduct’ bond that the management insisted they must sign before entering the factory. That led to a total shutdown and a production loss of 1,200 vehicles.

The bond says workers would follow discipline, not get involved in absenteeism, not resort to go-slow tactics, follow the production principle, and not sabotage production or indulge in activities that may hamper normal production.

The management pointed out the quality and quantity of cars being produced had been deteriorating since the more than 2,000 workers called off their 11-day strike in mid-June. The workers had then demanded a new union and the management had agreed to take back five workers dismissed earlier.

Sources in Maruti say the number of cars produced has, on average, been 100 units fewer than the daily targets, leading to a loss of Rs 3 crore a day. “Since this indiscipline has been going on for the last 45 days of production, the total loss on account of the lower number of cars produced is to the tune of Rs 135 crore already,” says a senior executive in the company.

Executives say in the last three days, serious quality problems have been observed. For example, vehicle doors fell during production as they were not properly clamped, wiring harnesses had cuts, bodies had dents and critical components were left improperly fitted.

The company suspended 10 workers and dismissed another five for sabotaging production and causing quality problems last week. The company is of the view the situation is directly harming customer trust. It had sent out warning letters and advisories to workers earlier.

Between August 23 and 25, Manesar was supposed to produce 3,700 units. The actual production was around 1,570 units. Of that, only 969 units got quality clearance, that is only 62 per cent cars produced.

“In the previous strike, we were liberal and did not impose the rule of cutting eight days’ salary for every one day of strike. We cut only two days’ salary for each day of strike and another two days’ pay was held in abeyance. Now, we may cut the other two days’ pay if they continue not to accept the conduct bond,” says a company executive. The company says 22 workers have accepted the bond.

According to news agency PTI, Shiv Kumar, who led the workers during the June strike, said, “The management is forcing us to sign an undertaking that we will not indulge in any union-related activities under influence from outside.”

The Haryana government had rejected the Manesar workers’ application for a new union.