Tata Motors to hike wages for FY10

Amid salary cut by companies across the world, Tata Motors today said it was planning to hike wages of its staff for the fiscal 2009-10, but the increase would not be to the extent given last year.

Tata Motors Human Resource Vice-President S J Tambe told reporters that many companies had not given their staff a raise this year, "but we are definitely looking at giving wage increases". 

On the sidelines of a conference organised by the Indian Chambers of Commerce here Tambe said the company was yet to finalise its wage hike structure for the current fiscal and an announcement would be made to this effect on July 1. During the last three years, the average wage increment was around 12 per cent to 13 per cent.

"The increment would be in single digit this year. We reduced the amount of increase that would go into the basic and introduced what is called merit allowance, which is linked to performance," Tambe said. 

Most of the 700-odd casual workers employed at Tata Motors' Jamshedpur factory have been reinstated. "We have already reverted some of the requirements there," Tambe said. 

Tata Motors had laid off some of its casual workers last year corresponding with block-closure of production at the Jamshedpur unit following the economic slowdown.