NEW DELHI: Striking workers at the Manesar plant refused to hold negotiations with the Maruti Suzuki management on Tuesday, prompting a state government mediator to blame them for the breakdown of peace talks.
Haryana labour minister SCL Sharma, who was mediating on behalf of the state government, said, “The workers are not agreeing to come back to work unless all their 62 colleagues, who were suspended, were taken back. All this is difficult as criminal cases have been lodged against many of them.”
The state government also released three leaders of the Maruti Suzuki Employees Union in an effort to end the 23-day-old industrial stir that has dented Haryana’s image as a peaceful investment destination. The MSI management and workers have been locked in a stand-off since August 29, when the management prevented workers from entering the factory premises unless they signed a good conduct bond.
On Tuesday, the workers at the Manesar plant submitted a petition to Gurgaon deputy commissioner PC Meena, seeking his help in resolving the ongoing crisis. A meeting of the joint action committee, an apex body of all workers’ unions in the Manesar-Gurgaon belt, will be held on Wednesday to chalk out the future course of action, said people close to the unions. The union leaders released on bail included president Sonu Gujjar and general secretary Shiv Kumar.
Meanwhile, Maruti rolled out 620 Swifts at the Manesar and Gurgaon plants on Tuesday, up from a day earlier and close to its targeted level. The country’s top carmaker said about 1,100 people were working on the production line at Manesar, where two plants are operating currently. The workforce included supervisors, engineers and trained hands brought in from the Gurgaon plant, which is functioning normally.
(Economic Times)
