Ford employees go on a strike demanding better compensation package

Workers at the Ford India’s sprawling factory in Maraimalai Nagar have gone on a strike by halting production of engines demanding a “better compensation package” from the global automobile giant which will exit the country this year.

The protests which began on Monday continued till the time of writing on Wednesday and showed no signs of ending. While around 750 workers who went inside the campus, 30 km from Chennai, on Monday are protesting on the shop floor, nearly 1,000 employees are sitting outside the main gate on the highway connecting the state capital with Kanyakumari.

Sources said that the workers are demanding a “better compensation package” from the management and resorted to protests after their request was not “considered positively.” Representatives of the Chennai Ford Employees Union suspended the final settlement talks with the management early this year after the global automobile giant applied for a production-linked scheme (PLI) for manufacturing electric vehicles.

However, they resumed the talks last month after Ford decided to pull out of the PLI. On Monday, the day Ford India signed an agreement with Tata Motors for selling the Sanand plant, employees at the Maraimalai Nagar factory began a sit-in protest.

Several rounds of talks between the two sides since Monday have failed to yield any results. “The protests are continuing, and the management hasn’t yet conceded to our demands. We want a better package as there we will lose our jobs. What the company is offering is very little,” a member of the union told DH on the condition of anonymity.

Though the employees were tight-lipped on their demands, sources said they were demanded more than 300 days' wages for every year completed in the severance package as against the company’s offer of wages of around 80 days for every year completed.

The Labour Department is also holding talks with the employees and management on the issue. “We hope to find a resolution soon,” a source in the government said.

When contacted, Ford India said the company continues to have all manufacturing employees on the rolls in Chennai as it continues the dialogue.

“We continue to remain engaged with employees & union representatives on all outstanding matters including compensation. Given the ongoing nature of the discussions, we have nothing further to share at this point,” a spokesman for Ford India said.

Tata Motors acquired Ford's Sanand plant due to the proximity between its facility and the one owned by the US automobile giant.

The entry of Ford, one of the iconic automobile brands of the US, into Chennai laid the foundation stone for the city emerging as India’s very own Detroit. After Ford came to Chennai in 1995, top carmakers like Hyundai, Renault-Nissan, BMW, and others flocked to the city making it an automobile hub of the country.