The strike by 2,000 workers of Maruti’s Manesar factory, which came to an end recently after 13 days, is a new age labor law case of reference for modern India. On June 4, the workers went on a strike demanding recognition of a new union, Maruti Suzuki Employees Union (MSEU), formed by those working at the Manesar plant. Since no intimation or notice was given to the management about the strike, the strike was called illegal according to Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. R.C. Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India said, “Our stand is clear. The strike is illegal. Even the Haryana government and labor commission have said the same. Still, we will continue to talk”.

The Haryana government toughened its stand on the workers of Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant by declaring the strike illegal and imposed a ban on the strike by passing prohibitory orders. In a press statement, Haryana MoS for Labor and Employment, Shiv Charan Lal Sharma, pointed out that the state government had also referred the matter to the local labor court under the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. This move of the state came even as the Maruti management offered the striking workers a peace proposal. Seven days into the strike, the management expressed their readiness to “review” two of the workers’ demands if they in return agree to call off the strike and make up for the losses in production due to the strike.

The management suggested a modification in the structure of the existing union and the company agreed to the establishment of individual bodies at the Manesar and Gurgaon facilities to deal with plant-level issues. Maruti has also proposed the formation of a governing council comprising of workers’ representatives from both the plants to deal with corporate level issues like wage negotiations. However, the management made it clear that they would not accept any union which had members from outside or with political affiliation.

The strike made headlines partly because strikes have become increasingly rare. The number of strikes instigated as a result of labor unrest, has witnessed a declining trend from 227 in 2005 to a 79 in 2010. The 13 days Maruti strike has become yet another case of reference of the workers, the management, and the state working together to reach a cordial settlement. The management even agreed to treat sympathetically the 11 workers who were sacked for instigating the strike at the facility. S.Y. Siddiqui, Managing Executive Officer, Administration - HR, Finance, IT & COSL, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd said, “We have said that we would look at the issue of reinstatement of the eleven workers who were terminated sympathetically. But they have to face some disciplinary action. Also, we were ready to reduce the penalty in the no work no pay policy from eight days to four days. After all we have lost more than Rs. 400 crore, so some disciplinary action has to be taken. But our first demand is that they should come back to work immediately.”

Though the 13 days strike led to loss of approximately Rs. 420 crore or 12,600 units, Maruti Suzuki’s structured and composed approach to resolve the scenario is reflective of the maturity of the leading Indian organization that is home to such a large workforce.