AITUC Backs Strike At Maruti Plant In Manesar

The strike at the Manesar plant of India's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki is spilling over. Backed by the All-India Trade Union Congress, over 50,000 workers in the Manesar-Gurgaon industrial belt - India's biggest auto hub - will observe a two-hour tool-down strike on Tuesday in support of the agitating employees of Maruti Suzuki.

The development follows a stalemate in the talks on the issue of reinstating sacked employees of Maruti.

Worker unions from Hero Honda's Daruhera plant, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, Rico Auto, Endurance Auto and Satyam Auto will join the two-hour tool-down strike.

The backing of the left wing All-India Trade Union Congress to the workers could mean more pressure on the Maruti Suzuki management.

The Manesar-Gurgaon auto belt produces about 50 per cent of the cars and two-wheelers in the country.

Officials of Maruti, workers and the state government had met on Sunday to discuss contentious issues. There are signs of a resolution to the strike that has entered its tenth day on Monday. Maruti Suzuki says it is willing to recognise the new union - the main demand of the workers. But the company is still silent on the issue of sacked workers.

Maruti Suzuki has three plants in Gurgaon and one in Manesar. Two more plants are coming up in Manesar besides a new plant in Gujarat.

The impact

Two thousand workers at the Manesar plant have been on strike since the June 4. The workers are demanding the recognition of a union they want to form. They also want the company to reinstate all eleven employees, who have been sacked during the strike.

Maruti Suzuki has suffered a production loss of almost 8,000 cars. In monetary terms, that has cost the company about Rs 400 crore or Rs 40 crore daily.

The factory produces hatchbacks Swift and A-Star and sedans DZiRE and SX4. The strike will also mean that the waiting period for the DZire sedan will get longer.