Hero MotoCorp?s Gurgaon plant workers may have got only half the R18,000 monthly wage hike they had been demanding, but the company seems to have sweetened the deal by offering a bouquet of benefits to ensure smooth passage of the deal after nine months of negotiations. The company has also cleared a second wage deal with hikes of up to R6,000 at its Haridwar plant, where the average salary is R12,000.
Similar to Maruti Suzuki?s recent initiative, the Hero management has offered to mediate on behalf of workers with the Haryana government for purchasing land at discounted prices and help build a cooperative housing society. The workers will also get performance-linked incentives divided in slabs ? for example, if monthly output is 1,600-3,000 units, R6.50 will go to the workers out of each vehicle sold, and for monthly output at 3,000-3,500 units, workers will get a further R3.20 per vehicle.
Additionally, interest-free personal loans up to R40,000 are available, while insurance cover and home and education loans have all been increased significantly.
?They have promised us help in getting land at low prices for a housing colony. We have also got production-linked incentives; so, if the company does well, we get a bonus of sorts. Jobs have also been offered to sons (18 years and above) of workers who have passed away,? Bhim Rao, general secretary of Hero MotoCorp Workers? Union (HMCWU) said. HMCWU represents about 1,200 permanent workers at the plant.
Rao added: ?I admit the hike was not very satisfactory, but after around nine months of talks and given the challenging market situation for two-wheelers, we decided to settle for the deal on the table. We chose a peaceful path in our negotiations in order to improve the image of the labour in this region after the recent incidents of violence.?
When contacted about the development, a Hero MotoCorp spokesperson said, ?By amicably reaching the new wage agreement, we have taken the lead in setting a benchmark for balanced and reasonable wage structure for industries in the region. This new wage structure has, therefore, set an example for other companies to follow, which will be for the larger good of the industrial environment in the region. This is indeed a testimony to the cordial relationship we enjoy with our workers and the representative unions.?
This wage deal signed early on Saturday morning gave Gurgaon workers a monthly hike of Rs 9,000, spread over three years ? far lower than HMCWU?s initial demand of a Rs 18,000 hike. The union has pressed for demands since January with several peaceful protests and even slowed down production for two days at one of the three lines which makes scooters. The union wanted the Hero management to match last year?s bumper wage hikes at Maruti Suzuki and Honda Motorcycle?s nearby factories of Rs 18,000 and Rs 14,750, respectively. After Hero?s wage revision this week, Honda?s average wage levels remain lower, but Maruti?s employee wages are still sharply higher.
?Some workers are not very happy since the wage hike did not even meet the five-figure mark of Rs 10,000. There is a feeling that the union had kept expectations very high and the leadership could not handle the pressure, and the management got its way,? a source close to the development said.