Maruti workers-mgmt talks to resume today

Negotiations between workers of Maruti Suzuki’s plant in Manesar in Haryana who struck work yesterday and the management are expected to begin again tomorrow.

The 2,500 workers are demanding recognition of a new union — Maruti Suzuki Employees Union (MSEU) — independent of the union at Maruti’s Gurgoan plant. They are also demanding retention of contract labourers for the two units coming up inside the complex.

With a capacity to produce 300,000 vehicles a year compared to one million in Gurgaon (which rolls out 4,000 cars a day), the Mamesar plant produces 1,200-1,300 cars in a day, including Swift, DZire SX4 and A-Star. With Maruti running at more than 100 per cent capacity, a disturbance may impact supplies. Maruti accounts for one-fourth of total cars produced in the country.

Chairman R C Bhargava said, “There has been no loss today as it’s a holiday. Tomorrow we will have negotiations. The company already has one union.” The strike, called on Saturday evening, may have led to a production loss of 650 cars.

Management sources say the strike is being backed by the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), affiliated to the Communist Party of India, which is spreading into Gurgaon and nearby areas and has been increasingly targeting auto companies, including Hero Honda and Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India (HMSI), and auto component companies.

The workers say the present union, the Maruti Suzuki Kamgar Union, is controlled by the workers of the Gurgaon plant. “The issues at the Manesar plant are different. But the management has forcibly taken written undertakings from workers that they are happy with the old union,” said a worker.

Maruti has had a record of peaceful relationship with the union. The last strike occurred in 2001 when production was stopped for three months.

Resolving the issue is important for Maruti as it is expanding capacity at Manesar. It is setting up two units with an annual capacity of 2.5 lakh units at a total investment of Rs 3,625 crore.

Strikes targeting the auto sector and supported by AITUC have been common in the Gurgaon-Manesar-Bawal zone and reflect the unions’ bid to increase clout in the area. After all, 60 per cent of the country’s auto production happens in this area. What has made it easier for unions is the fact that 80 per cent of the 1 million workers in this auto hub have been hired on contract. Experts say AITUC, which tried to increase clout in Maruti in the 90s, has gained influence by playing a key role in negotiating wages at HMSI in 2007. HMSI had faced violent strikes in 2005 and then again in 2007.

The union’s clout was also seen when workers of over 70 automobile companies such as Hero Honda and HMSI joined a one-day strike a few years ago.

The strike was in protest against the death of a 26-year-old worker of component maker RICO Auto in a clash between two groups of employees.

The managements admit that unions’ clout rose during the recession when many companies were unable to renew the contracts of workers or were forced to ask them to go. Union leaders, however, say that key issue has been non-implementation of labour laws in Haryana. They also argue that the companies are not allowing workers to form unions.