Hero's Gurgaon labour woes legitimate but will co relent?

New Delhi: This is the story of two sets of workers who make motorcycles barely 50 km apart from each other.

One set works in a slightly more rural setting of Dharuhera in Haryana while the other churns out bikes in upscale Gurgaon. But both work for the same company.

The first set seems happy with an increment of Rs 6,500 for three years (done two years back) but the second set is demanding close to Rs 15,000 for three years. Is the difference in living standards between Gurgaon and Dharuhera - industrial belts both with large automobile factories where workers primarily drawn from neighbouring villages - so vast?

On the face of it, the silent protests by workers at Hero MotoCorp’s manufacturing facility at Gurgaon for the last one month seem more aspirational than rational. Workers have been wearing black arm bands and since January 4 have stopped sipping tea inside the factory despite this year’s severe winter.

But slowly, the leader of their employee union opened up to Firstpost about why the Gurgaon workers are only demanding what they consider just.

It seems the actual salary difference between workers at two of Hero MotoCorp’s plants is already about Rs 10,000 and will get magnified if the workers agree to the management’s proposal.

“Workers at Dharuhera get doorstep bus facility, medical insurance etc. We, at Gurgaon, have to commute at our own expense, medical allowance is deducted from our wages and canteen food also has to be paid for though it is subsidised. When the management says we should be happy with the increment that they gave at Dharuhera, it is not taking into account the vast difference in the cost of living between that place and Gurgaon. Besides, we are drawing Rs 10,000 less than Dharuhera workers already,” says President of the union Kawalpreet Singh.

He also points out that Rs 6,500 was the increment two years back at Dharuhera and this amount is inadequate in today’s inflationary environment. But the most telling comment Singh makes is about seeking parity with wage increments of other two wheeler factories around the area, most importantly parity with what workers at Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) have managed just last month.

A statement from Hero MotoCorp does not get into the minutiae of any wage settlement, merely saying “we have been holding talks with members of the Union at our Gurgaon plant in an amicable and friendly atmosphere. It is, therefore, not appropriate at this point of time to get into specific details with regard to the ongoing talks, until we reach an amicable conclusion.”

But the world’s largest two wheeler maker does speak of worker welfare, saying “we has always given top priority to the overall welfare and well-being of all our workers. We have always followed the philosophy of steady growth for all our staff and workmen and we stay committed to that belief……. we will take prudent, well-deliberated and sensible decision for the mutual satisfaction of everyone concerned and indeed for the larger good of the industrial environment in the region.”

Negotiations between workers and the Hero management have been going on since August. Meanwhile, Harjeet Singh Grover, a leader in the HMSI employee union, is proud to confirm that his union has successfully negotiated an increment of a little over Rs 16,000 just two weeks back, valid for three years.

Not just a pleasing hike in salary, workers at HMSI are also now entitled to a home loan up to Rs 12 lakh where the company pays half the interest cost on any loan and Rs 25 lakh lumpsum payment if a worker dies.

Also, number of days of paid leave has gone up to 28 from 25 each year besides a facility of Rs 10,000 each year for children’s education.

So is it right that HMSI has been taken as a benchmark by the Hero workers, specially since HMSI has a history of violent labour trouble? Not just HMSI, even the recent violent unrest at Maruti Suzuki India’s Manesar plant has served as a benchmark for many labour unions which are now demanding much more in terms of money and facilities and placing their demands vociferously too.

Maruti’s workers have been awarded almost 50% increase in wages at the Gurgaon plant recently.

Singh at Hero says till now, the workers have not given any threat of a go-slow or strike to the management “but if things continue this way, we will be left with no option”. In case the workers do act on this underlying threat of hindering production, things could get difficult for Hero, which has already lost market share last year due to declining two wheeler sales.

Singh points out that Hero makes 7,000 two wheelers daily at each of the two Haryana plants (Dharuhera and Gurgaon) and another 9,000 units at its Haridwar facility where workers are yet to form a union. The company has been scouting for a fourth facility too.

Union leaders in the belt point out that despite the legitimacy of demands of the Hero MotoCorp workers, it may be close to impossible for the management to accept these.

“The gap between the demands and the management’s offer is just too wide. I don’t think they will be met,” said one union leader.

The entire Gurgaon-Manesar belt has been witness to periodic labour trouble, the latest incident being violence and lockdown at Maruti Suzuki India’s Manesar facility last year. HMSI suffered one of the most violent protests over wage issues in 2005 and labour unrest again raised its head here in 2009. But since then, things have been quiet, partly because the increments have been to the workers’ liking.

Now, wage negotiations are due at several neighbouring factories: GKN Driveline, FCC RICO, RICO and Endurance over the next three months. How workers at Hero manage to negotiate their wages will probably determine the fate of workers at all these nearby facilities.

Despite Hero workers comparing themselves to other two wheeler factory workers in the belt, the president of the Suzuki Two wheeler union told Firspost that there were no wage issues at his plant as of now and he saw no parallel with Hero workers’ demands since negotiations will begin only in 2014.