The labour unrest at Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar assembly line that started on Saturday threatens to be a prolonged agitation with both the company and workers sticking to their respective stands. This company on Monday terminated the services of 11 of its workers for ?inciting other workers to suspend production? and making the ?environment unsafe?. The stir has resulted in a production loss of 1,800 units.
Maruti said the strike was illegal since the workers should have intimated the company at least 15 days in advance as per the general practice. “There was simply no communication from the workers prior to the strike. Hence it is completely illegal,” a company official said.
The key demand put forth by the workers of Maruti Suzuki includes the recognition of a new union ? Maruti Suzuki Employees Union (MSEU) ? formed by those working at the Manesar plant. The company currently has one union, Maruti Udyog Kamgar Union (MUKU). ?The management has firmly stated that any kind of indiscipline will not be tolerated, but workers’ demands will be heard,? a company spokesperson told FE.
Company officials said next month there would be elections to the union and whosoever is elected would be represented in MUKU. The spokesperson also downplayed the concerns regarding production loss, saying the company had enough inventory at the dealer level besides its own stock piles to cut down any loss. ?The management is looking for a long-term solution so that such an issue does not come up again,? another company official said. Production at the plant takes place in two shifts ? from 7.30 am to 4 pm and 4 pm to 12.30 am. The last time the company witnessed a major strike was when workers stopped production for three months from November, 2000 to January, 2001.
The labour strike is significant because of the overall sentiment for car sales is low in the country. In May, Maruti Suzuki’s sales grew just by 3.9% to 93,519 units as compared to 90,041 units in May last year. Over the last two years several big original equipment manufacturers and auto component makers have witnessed labour stirs. In 2009-10, the entire Gurgaon-Manesar belt had been engulfed by labour problems that had started from Rico Auto. In 2010, Hyundai Motor and GM had to face labour problems in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, respectively. After an early morning drop, Maruti Suzuki’s share price marginally increased 0.52% on the BSE to close at R1,240.