The union at Bajaj Auto?s Chakan plant on Wednesday declined to accept the notice served on it by the Pune labour and industrial court, prolonging the labour dispute which began on June 25. On Tuesday, Bajaj Auto had moved the adjudicating authority with a petition to declare the strike illegal, following which the court served a notice to the union, Bajaj Auto vice-president (manufacturing-motorcycles) KJ Zanzari told FE.
?Although the bailiff had served the notice in person to the union members, it was not accepted,? Zanzari said. The case is being heard by judge NS Kole. In a public communication, Bajaj Auto published advertisements in the local newspapers on Wednesday asking the union members to present themselves at the court hearings. The court will decide the next date of hearing.
A tripartite meeting was proposed to be held on Wednesday at the office of the labour commissionerate of Pune but the members of the Vishwa Kalyan Kamgar Sanghatana failed to turn up. Sambhaji More, assistant labour commissioner in charge of the Chakan area said union members pleaded inability to attend the meeting as workers had to report to the police station to deal with the complaints lodged against them.
The labour commissioner?s office told FE it could only intervene and push for conciliation but had no powers to adjudicate; these remained with the industrial labour court whose decision is binding on both parties.
Meanwhile, the Bajaj Auto management is talking of gradually ramping up production at Chakan as well as shifting some production of Pulsar bikes to the Waluj plant.
?The situation at the Chakan plant is improving gradually with around 1,200 bikes being rolled out on Wednesday from the Chakan plant and 600 Pulsars from the Waluj plant. On Tuesday, the company made 1,180 Pulsars at Chakan plant and 500 at the Waluj. The management is ready to shift more production to Waluj if the situation does not improve. The first step is to reach 800 units per day Waluj,? Zanzari told FE.
Manish Sabharwal, expert on labour relations and CEO, TeamLease feels both the company and the workers are under pressure to arrive at a solution. ?For Bajaj to shift production will prove expensive, though it may be a one-time cost. But for the workers, the loss of pay for a long period, especially if the strike is declared illegal, and the further risk of losing jobs could prove far worse.? Sabharwal explained.
He added that the labour court serving the Bajaj union a notice just means that the dispute is moving towards adjudication. ?No company can guarantee wage increases because this depends so much on the outside situation,? Sabharwal observed.
The larger vendors of Bajaj Auto are comfortable supplying to either the Chakan or Waluj plant. The Varroc Group is one of the largest diversified suppliers to the two-wheeler maker and has facilities at both locations. Ravi Damodaran, president (technology and strategy) at Varroc, said it would not feel any impact but it could be a matter of concern for the smaller suppliers. ?It is a fluid situation and we do not have a confirmation about the developments for the long term,? he said.
The Bajaj stock was down 1.22% on Wednesday on the NSE and closed at Rs 1,890.05, down Rs 23.25. The Bajaj stock has lost Rs 66.75 (3.79%) over the last one week. Meanwhile, brokerages have started downgrading the stock with a CLSA report saying Bajaj?s market share in motorcycles had slipped and it expects more pressure when competition launches more bikes.