Siddhartha Lal, voted down by Eicher shareholders, gets Enfield staff backing

While extending support on the re-appointment, Sampath, vice-president, Royal Enfield Employees Union, was critical of the way employees unions are treated

After a snub from shareholders on the re-appointment and pay hike, Eicher Motors managing director Siddhartha Lal has received support from an unlikely corner. The Royal Enfield employees union came out in public, seeking his re-appointment, stating he was good for the company and employees.

The support comes from the union, affiliated to Working People Trade Union Congress (WPTUC), that was at loggerheads with the management over various issues including alleged non-payment of bonus and recognition of the union. “We want him to continue as the managing director as he was good in terms of employee welfare and also played a major role in developing Royal Enfield as an iconic brand,” R Sampath, vice-president, Royal Enfield Employees Union (REEU) told Business Standard.

Lal was credited for reviving the brand image of Royal Enfield since he took charge as the managing director of the company in 2006-07. The annual sales volume in the two-wheeler segment, which was a mere 32,612 units in 2006-07, increased over 17-fold to 609,403 in 2020-21. The two-wheeler sales volume had even touched 822,724 in 2018-19, just before the pandemic affected sales across the world. Interestingly, his remuneration increased multifold from a mere Rs 1.06 crore in 2010 to Rs 21.12 crore in 2020-21.

While extending support on the re-appointment, Sampath was critical of the way employees unions are treated. “The management is yet to recognise us, despite the fact that more than 90 per cent of the employees are part of our union. In addition, they were transferring whoever was becoming an office bearer in the Union. Hope Lal would take an inclusive stance on such issues going ahead,” he added.

Between September to November 2018, REEU employees were on protest for a span of 50 days, following which, it signed an agreement with the management. However, in February 2019, workers at the Royal Enfield motorcycle factory at Oragadam in Chennai again started protests after management allegedly transferred around 50 employees to other states including West Bengal, Rajasthan and Karnataka.

Even in 2021, the employees had reportedly alleged that the management was trying to set up two parallel trade unions and was forcefully inducting workers into it. Backed by the management, two unions were reportedly set up at Royal Enfield’s two plants namely Oragadam Royal Enfield Workers Welfare Union and Vallam Royal Enfield Collaborative Union.

To support its employees during Covid, the company provided medical and covid insurance facilities and set up Emergency Response Teams across regions. In addition, it also arranged free-of cost doctor consultation and an exclusive 70-bed, Covid care centre in Chennai. The company also announced supporting the immediate family of the deceased employee via disbursement of their current salary for a period of two years. The company has a total of around 5,000 employees.

Lal’s current package includes a salary of Rs 7.38 crore, commission of Rs 6.7 crore, and perquisites of Rs 7.04 crore. In 2010, it included Rs 47 lakh salary, Rs 50 lakh commission and Rs 9 lakh as perquisites.