Bosch on Tuesday said that nearly three-month-long strike at its Bengaluru plant has ended. The management concluded a wage settlement with the workers’ union, which has agreed to accept the wage hike deal. The settlement for 2013-2016 includes an increase of a ‘basket amount’ (basic) of R8,500 per month with a performance-linked incentive scheme.
“The estimated drop in sales due to the strike is approximately 1% during the strike period,” Bosch said.
“The Workmen Union has agreed to accept the last offered wage and benefits proposal that would enable the earning potential — the monthly cost-to-company — of an average workman to increase from R64,000 to R86,000, subject to working as per industrial engineering standards for 7.5 hours in an eight-hour shift,” it said.
The company has also offered to confirm 100 of the 370 temporary workmen at the new intermediate wage level even though it may have excess manpower in the future due to change in the product mix.
The Mico Employees Association (MEA), which includes 2,575 permanent workers besides the temporary ones, had declared a strike on September 16. The union had also moved the Karnataka HC against an October 10 Karnataka government order prohibiting the strike. The union wanted a basket amount of R9,400 per worker, comparable to the Nashik plant wage settlement. The management, which stood firm on its final wage offer made towards the end of October, said that a settlement was ratified with a referendum involving workmen and signed on December 8.
“I am pleased to see all our workmen resume production. Despite the adverse effect of the strike, the company has made a generous offer to its union and expects them to adhere to the agreed measures on productivity standards,” said Steffen Berns, MD, Bosch.
