A management versus employees standoff over a lockout at Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s two plants at Bidadi is continuing and one of the employees on indefinite hunger strike has been hospitalised owing to low blood pressure.
“Our fasting has entered fourth day today, 25 of our employees are still fasting. Four of them are suffering from low BP and one has been hospitalised,” Toyota Kirloskar Employees Union joint secretary N Raghu told Press Trust of India (PTI).
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He added: “We want government to intervene soon and take care of us.”
The report said 25 union members had begun an indefinite day and night hunger strike in front of the Bidadi plant on 2 April demanding the government intervene to resolve the deadlock and the company should allow employees to resume work without any conditions and also withdraw suspension of workers.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor had termed the action “regrettable”.
The Indian Toyota subsidiary had, on 16 March, declared a lockout following the failure of talks between the management and the union over wage negotiations.
The union is demanding a wage hike of INR4,000 ($US67) compared with INR3,050 ($51) offered by management.
On 24 March, the lockout was lifted with employees not resuming work as they objected to signing a good conduct undertaking as demanded by the company.
TKM vice-chairman and whole-time director Shekar Viswanathan told PTI: “Around 300 team members have reported back to work after signing good conduct undertaking…”.
He had said there were about 1,200 supervisory staff inside the plant working on the assembly line, apprentice staff of about 800 and about 400 contract labour.
“This contract labours and apprentice are within the limits authorised by labour department.”
TKMEU general secretary N Raghu had said “very few, about 30 employees” had gone the first day, but they too came out the [same] day.
