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Bajaj Auto has scaled up production at its troubled Chakan unit by more than double as compared to the first day of the strike which began last Tuesday, even as police continue to make more arrests.
The company, which produced 970 units on Sunday from the Chakan facility will be producing 1,250 units today, a senior executive of the company said. The plant at Chakan, before the strike began, operated at 3000 units per day.
The Pune-based, India’s second largest bike producer, has been facing labour trouble since the past week at its Chakan plant, including alleged coercion tactics adopted by the striking workers.
Nine arrests have been made so far by the Chakan police station with a total of 15 complaints filed. At least three police complaints were filed by Bajaj Auto, five by contractors who provide labour and seven by employees.
The charges range from kidnapping, physical assault, damaging private property and intimidation. The company though has clarified that no violence is to be reported within one kilometer radius of the plant. At least 20 police constables are stationed outside the plant currently.
The company reported its highest worker attendance today since the strike began. About 488 workers reported to duty today, higher than the initial number of 200 workers who reported to work on last Wednesday.
Pardeep Shrivastava, chief operating officer, Bajaj Auto said, “We will be fair but we will be firm. There should be unconditional withdrawal of strike immediately and restoration of production. We are willing to discuss topics once (the workers) restore production”.
Meanwhile, disruption is production was being reported at the plant since October last year with the plant efficiency dropping to 30 per cent in mid-June from its usual average of 94 per cent. Workers, the company alleges, were involved in absenteeism, stopping flow of components, giving false alarms over quality, among several other reasons.
In early June the company claims to have lost at least 10,000 units of production due to the ‘go-slow’ approach adopted by the troubling workers. One of the employees, Santosh Poddar, who Bajaj Auto alleges to have been instrumental in slowing down the production, was also suspended.
At least 13 employees were suspended as a result and a few transferred to Bajaj’s Aurangabad plant. One of the demands of the union is to reinstate the suspended workers and to bring back the workers transferred workers to Chakan. Other key demands include increment in wages and allotment of equity shares of Bajaj Auto at discounted rates. VKKS dismissed the nine year wage agreement signed by it in 2010.
Bajaj Auto received a letter in early March stating the termination of the agreement. As per the agreement wages have to be reviewed every three years. The workers got a 12 per cent increase in the first year followed by 8 per cent hikes in the next two years. Increments for this year were to be discussed in April.
Further, though Bajaj Auto has not filed any case directly against Dilip Pawar, the president of Vishwa Kalyan Kamgaar Sanghatna (VKKS), the company filed a petition today in an industrial court to declare the strike illegal. The company has also petitioned for a daily hearing on the case. VKKS is the name of the union operating at Chakan and at Akurdi plant.
The company expects to push production to 2,000 units per day by next Monday at the Chakan plant. “Threats are continuing even today. But more and more people will come in once the threat reduces with increased police action”, added Shirvastava.
Production at the Aurangabad plant has also increased to 300 units of Pulsars from about 100 Pulsars four days ago. The Chakan plant continues to focus on KTM models even as half of the output is targeted for the export market.
