More than 2,000 striking Maruti Suzuki workers are due to return to work tomorrow (18 June) following the end of the bitter dispute that has seen the North India plant of Manesar shuttered for 13 days.
Estimates vary wildly as to the cost of the strike – centering on the dismissal of 11 workers and a row concerning union recognition – but a Maruti spokesman yesterday (16 June) conceded to just-auto the stoppage had haemorrhaged US$10m as its daily production of 1,200 vehicles ground to a halt. Other loss predictions are far higher.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
But despite the return to work tomorrow – today is a holiday in India – there seems to be some confusion as to the status of any new union recognition – at the heart of the dispute.
“The 11 workers have been taken back – the recognition issue is not mentioned as there is no law that says you have to recognise a union,” All India Trade Union Congress national secretary Darshan Sachdev told just-auto from India.
“The new union is functioning whether it is recognised or not. Let us see how the management, after the factory is opened, how it conducts itself.”
The AITUC national secretary confirmed to just-auto that workers who had staged a sit-in at the Manesar plant – ranging from union estimates of 2,000 to management numbers of 600 – had returned home last night.”
It remains unclear what the strike has cost employees – all the AITUC would confine itself to noting was “13 days wages lost” but a Maruti spokesman emphasised yesterday: “The other workers are obviously not coming to work…no work, no pay.”
Phone lines to Maruti Suzuki were continually down today.
