News: Labour unrest: Maruti, workers finally call truce

Employee Relations

Labour unrest: Maruti, workers finally call truce

The dust of labor unrest, the third in a row since June this year, finally seems to be settling down at Maruti. With the management agreeing to some of the demands of the workers, the crippling strike which began on October 7, 2011 came to an end on the fourteenth day following a marathon 48 hours of non-stop negotiation among workers, management, labor officials and the district administration. According to the agreement, Maruti will take back 1,200 workers as it increases production and will also reinstate the services of 64 permanent workers but another 33 would remain suspended. The agreement has also paved the way for the formation of a ‘Grievance Redressal Committee’ and ‘Labor Welfare Committee’ to promote measures for good relation between the workers and the management. Estimates suggest that ever since the unrest Maruti has suffered a production loss of 75,000 units worth Rs. 28 billion.

The dust of labor unrest, the third in a row since June this year, finally seems to be settling down at Maruti. With the management agreeing to some of the demands of the workers, the crippling strike which began on October 7, 2011 came to an end on the fourteenth day following a marathon 48 hours of non-stop negotiation among workers, management, labor officials and the district administration. According to the agreement, Maruti will take back 1,200 workers as it increases production and will also reinstate the services of 64 permanent workers but another 33 would remain suspended. The agreement has also paved the way for the formation of a ‘Grievance Redressal Committee’ and ‘Labor Welfare Committee’ to promote measures for good relation between the workers and the management. Estimates suggest that ever since the unrest Maruti has suffered a production loss of 75,000 units worth Rs. 28 billion.

On the other hand, the repeated interruptions in production due to labor unrest at Manesar, apparently has hastened the plan to finalize the automaker’s expansion plan beyond Haryana. The likely beneficiary in such a situation would be the state of Gujarat. Following the footsteps of its peers like Tata Motors, Ford and Peugeot Citeron who have set up their facilities in Gujarat, Maruti’s Board is likely to approve the proposal to invest Rs. 180 billion including Rs. 60 billion by auto ancillaries in Gujarat for a plant spread over 1,000 acres with a capacity of 2 million units. This could be a second blow to the Haryana government after Honda Motors and Scooters India decided to set up plants in Karnataka and Rajasthan following similar labor unrests at its Manesar (Haryana) plant.
 

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Topics: Employee Relations, #Updates, #IndustrialRelations

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