Toyota strike: Karnataka govt steps in

Refers all issues between management and workers for adjudication

The Karnataka government on Saturday directed the management of Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Ltd and the company’s employees union to immediately restore normalcy in operations at the company’s plants in Bidadi, 35 km from here. It has also referred all issues between the workers and the management for adjudication.

The directive follows the failure of talks between the management and workers union before the deputy labour commissioner on April 16.

The state government, which was awaiting voting for the elections to be completed here (April 17), before intervening in the matter, sources said.

It wasn’t clear whether an adjudicator had been appointed in the case.

In a statement issued here this evening, the Toyota Kirloskar management said, “The government of Karnataka, in order to maintain industrial peace and harmony, has issued an order asking the company and the union to restore normalcy in operations immediately. We thank all our stakeholders for their support and understanding during this difficult period.”

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Employees Union (TKMEU) representatives weren’t available for comment.

While workers at the company’s plants had demanded revocation of the suspension of 30 employees and an unconditional withdrawal of the lockout at the Bidadi facilities, the management had refused this.

In February, 4,500 grade-eight workers at the Bidadi facilities went on a ‘go-slow’ drive to press for various demands, including a wage revision for 2013-14. The company declared a lockout from March 16 and called it off on March 24, with the condition that the employees sign a good-conduct undertaking.

Since March 24, the company has been recording limited production of passenger vehicles at the two Bidadi plants. Against the capacity of 700 units a day, the company is manufacturing only 300-350. Due to this, the supply of cars to dealerships has fallen sharply; the waiting period for Toyota vehicles has risen to two months. The crisis has also led to delay in the launch of the Etios Cross and an upgraded version of the Corolla Altis.

Since April 2, TKMEU members have been staging relay hunger strikes before the Bidadi factory gates.