The Pune labour court on Monday adjourned hearing in the Bajaj Auto case till August 2 after Dilip Pawar, president, Vishwa Kalyan Kamgar Sanghatana (VKKS) ? the recognised union of the auto major ? filed an application seeking to submit the union?s written say before the court.
Bajaj Auto had sought time from Judge NS Kole for responding to the workers? complaint. Bajaj Auto?s counsel Aditya Joshi said the company wants to study the written statement filed by the union in detail before submitting its reply. Bajaj Auto has filed a petition in the court, to term the ‘ongoing strike’ at the Chakan plant illegal. Workers have not reported for work since June 25.
The union said that the management had deducted eight days? wages from their June 2013 salary for being absent from work from June 25. In that case, absence from duty could not be described as a strike, as defined under the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947, it said.
The union said that the company has refused to meet its demands, saying it will have to approach its shareholders. However, from January 2013 till June 2013, the company hasn?t take any steps to convene a meeting of shareholders , it alleged. The union also claimed that the matter wasn?t raised at the AGM either.
Meanwhile, as many as 600 workers turned up at the court on Monday. On Sunday, activist Medha Patkar and CPM district secretary Ajit Abhyankar lent their support to the union.
According to Pawar, VKKS has a corpus of R60 lakh ? raised over five years ? to fall back on if conditions worsen. Around 60% of the workers are in 25-30 age group.