Strike bad news for auto belt

While the workers’ strike at the Manesar plant, which entered the eighth day on Saturday, has started hitting the Maruti badly with production losses running into hundreds of crores, the agitation is gaining added momentum with employees union of some of the leading auto firms in the vicinity extending support to the agitation. Nearly 2,000 workers of the Manesar plant have been on strike since June 4 demanding recognition of a new union floated by them.

Till recently the workers of the Manesar plant have been coming under the umbrella of Maruti Udyog Kamgar Union—the only union that represents the workers of the mother plant at Gurgaon  as well as the Manesar plant. But the workers of the Manesar plant are now insisting on a new union—independent of the MUKU.

The Manesar plant workers argue that they need a separate union as their problems are of “different nature” and are not being taken care by the MUKU.On the other hand the Maruti management is unwilling to recognize the new union as it apprehends that it will be controlled by outsiders with affiliation with political parties, company sources said.

The management is wary of entry of any outsiders including political unions, which are active in the Gurgaon-Manesar belt, sources said. The situation has worsened with the Maruti management sacking 11 employees of the Manesar plant.

The agitation has now assumed a wider dimension with workers from different companies in the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt extending support to workers of the Manesar plant.
The Gurgaon-Manesar belt houses some of the leading auto companies like Hero Honda, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India and Rico Auto.