Royal Enfield asks workers to resume work at Oragadam, union refuses

A majority of the workers at Oragadam continue to report to work, according to the company

The strike by a section of workers in Royal Enfield's Oragadam factory, which has been on for almost 40 days now, has resulted in a total production loss of around 25,000 units. The factory's chief operating officer (COO) has sought that the protesting workers resume work at theearliestt and restart a dialogue internally.

"The strike situation has been prevailing since September 24. It is unfortunate and very disturbing to me that so of our colleagues chose to abstain from work," COO B Govindarajan (BGR) wrote in a letter to the workers on November 1, 2018.

On October 31, the company informed the stock exchanges that loss of production for September and October would be 25,000 motorcycles.

It added that a majority of the workers at Oragadam continue to report to work. The letter said the company's Vallam Vadagal plant was operating at full capacity.

While the protesting workers alleged no proper dialogue was held, Govindarajan said in the letter several efforts have been made to resolve concerns in an amicable manner. "Despite sincere efforts, it has been observed that citing filmsy reasons and digressing from meaningful conversation, a few colleagues have consciously and continuously chosen to spread misinformationa in incite/ coerce others to remain away from work".

R Kuchelan, president, Royal Enfield Rmployees Union (REEU), which represents the striking workers, in his reply to the letter alleged that workers had reported for duty on October 5, but the management violated certain service conditions. He said, as such, the management is responsible for the stalemate.

REEU had called a strike on September 24 demanding that the management reinstate around 120 probationary employees and a permanent one to their job and pay their bonus pending since 2015.