Bosch lifts lockout at Naganathapura plant

The five-day-old lockout in global auto parts major Bosch's Naganathapura plant here would be lifted tomorrow as an understanding was reached between the management and unions today.

The resolution comes following a tripartite meeting between the management, unions and the additional labour commissioner, after being prompted by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.

"We are lifting the lockout from the first shift tomorrow," Bosch India Corporate Communications Head Sanjay Chakravarty told PTI.

The company had declared the lockout at the Naganathapura facility on March 8 citing alleged "intimidation" of the plant managers and officers during the workers' go-slow strike and subsequent tool-down strike demanding higher wages.

 

"We have come to this understanding during a tripartite meeting between the additional labour commissioner, Bosch management and Naganathapura workers union," Chakravarty said.

On the proposed move to declare lockout at its flagship plant at Adugodi, near here, from March 15, Chakravarty said, "We have issued a fresh notice that we will not go on lockout provided the union does not go on strike."

President of workers union at Mico, a part of the Bosch group, S Prassana Kumar said at the tripartite meeting the workers have been advised to maintain normalcy at the plant.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa had called meeting of the Bosch management and the union in the presence of Labour Minister B N Bachegowda.

The Naganathapura plant, which has some 715 permanent employees, makes generators and starters, while the Adugodi unit with 2,400 workforce, manufactures common rail and diesel fuel injection systems.

Employees of the Naganathapura plant had resorted to go-slow from February 12.

The two plants contribute to over 50 per cent of Bosch's production in the country.

Apart from wage hike, the employees were also demanding implementation of variable DA and settlement of a dispute over a new scale for on job trainees once they are confirmed.

Yesterday Bosch said the company was incurring Rs 1 crore loss a day at Naganathpura and Rs 3 crore from the Adugodi facility. Its clients were incurring a total product turnover loss of Rs 1,000 crore monthly.