A sense of uneasy calm surrounds the Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) plant at Manesar, even as workers and equipment move around the premises in everyday fashion. Things seem to have returned to normal after the 13-day deadlock between the management and striking workers. At the very location where the striking workers sat on a dharna, near-swift movement of men and material can now be easily spotted, pointing at the improving health of production at the plant.
So what transpired at the negotiations on Thursday, June 16, which finally brought about a truce between the two parties after the prolonged confrontation? At about 5.15 PM when handpicked lieutenants from Maruti Suzuki and the workers? union entered the negotiations room in Gurgaon to end the labour strike, few outside were aware that the broad principles of disagreement had already been resolved. What remained was to etch out the terms and conditions in black and white which was to be seen as the holy grail for all future management-worker disputes at MSIL.
However, what followed was beyond anybody?s expectations. The meeting, which was largely seen as formality to reach a final settlement, stretched on for seven hours ending at the stroke of midnight as weary-eyed workers, management and representatives of the Haryana government stepped out of the room to inform the small gathering of workers and reporters that the strike was called off.
Among those present included chief general manager of Maruti CS Raju, general manager (production) Rajiv Gandhi, leader of the proposed new union Maruti Suzuki Employees Union Shiv Kumar and national secretary of All India Trade Union Congress DL Sachdev apart from a host of others. The Haryana government was also represented by labour minister Shiv Charan Lal Sharma, labour commissioner Satwanti Ahlawat and labour secretary Sarban Singh.
?The main disagreements were over the wording of the agreement. Nobody wanted to take any chances and ignore the nitty-gritty of the text,? a source who was part of the deliberations told FE. For instance, a good part of the time was spent in defining the precise meaning of the term ?agenda? or what constitutes ?vested interests?. ?Maruti and the workers wanted to clearly define what all could mean by an ?agenda.? This was important to settle all future disputes,? the source said.
As per the final arrangement, Maruti Suzuki accepted the demand to take back the 11 laid off workers, but refused to give explicit recognition to the new union. The company also decided to cut double the salary for the 13 days lost in production, but warned that any similar stir or even misbehaviour on the part of the workers in the future would result in triple salary cuts.
The striking workers agreed to resume duty at the earliest. According to the workers, one of the triggers for the strike on June 4 was the supposed insistence by Maruti to sign a paper which said that the workers accepted the existing union ? Maruti Udyog Kamgar Union ? as their own representative body. ?The company has now agreed that we would not be asked to sign the paper. Also, the fact that Maruti took back the 11 workers shows that our demands were met,? said Shiv Kumar, leader of MSEU.
Kumar said that this was the first time in Maruti?s history that the management took back laid off workers. According to him, in 2001 when Maruti witnessed another strike, the company had refused to take back over 200 workers who were removed on disciplinary grounds. Maruti officials were muted in their response. Unwilling to come on record, company sources said that right through the labour strike, Maruti was clear that they would not be arm-twisted to accept a demand. ?We were clear all along that the strike was illegal. Hence, based on the disruption of work, you cannot hold us to ransom. There are ways in which to redress issues, but it was completely ignored,? a visibly miffed company official told FE.
According to 29-year old Rajesh (name changed on request) who has worked for three years with Maruti, the company?s compensation package for workers is flawed. His basic salary is Rs 4,000 and he gets an additional Rs 9,000 every month for attendance and production. ?For every day?s absence, the company would deduct Rs 1,500,? he said. He said that once the new union came into existence issues such as this would be addressed by the workers in an institutionalised manner. Explaining the rationale, a Maruti official said that every ?unplanned leave? by a worker, it costs the company heavily. ?Each worker has been given a specific role in the production and supply chain. If they do not inform the supervisor well in advance, then production gets hampered severely,? he said.
According to HL Kumar, a lawyer on labour laws, the strike has ended in stalemate with heavy casualties on either side. ?Both the Maruti management and the striking workers were at a loss due to this strike. Such strikes mostly damage the interests of both parties, as the company loses production and the workers lose their wages. Both parties should have been a little flexible from the beginning and should have considered other regular options like collective bargaining,? he said.
For instance, while Maruti faced a production loss of 12,400 units amounting to roughly Rs 420 crore, the striking workers lost nearly a month?s salary. The crippling of production also hit the company?s over 200 hundred truck drivers who transport material thrice a day from Manesar to Gurgaon. ?In the last two weeks, we have lost an income of Rs 300 per day,? said truck driver Subhash. He however, said that the long-distance truck drivers were not affected, since Maruti had a three-week stock pile.
Despite the overall calmness at Manesar on Saturday, a few issues still remained unresolved.
Have the workers? core demands been met? ?No. We still want the new union. Once our registration is accepted, we will form the new union,? Kumar of MSEU said. Then what happens if the new union gets registered in Chandigarh? Will it be accepted by Maruti? ?The wounds are still fresh,? a Maruti source admits. The two sides have also differed on the exact number of striking workers. While Maruti says it was around 600, the workers claim it was three-fold higher at close to 2,000.