Maruti strike: 'Union will be independent, we won't give up'

New Delhi: Just when it seemed like the dust had finally settled in Maruti Suzuki India’s plant at Manesar, the centre of what has been proclaimed as “ the most significant worker’s struggle in India in the last two decades”, comes news that workers plan to register a new union.

In early October, workers at Maruti’s Manesar plant began a daring agitation, which then spread to other plants in Haryana’s emerging industrial hub, demanding the reinstatement of contract workers and the setting up of a workers’ union.

On October 19, an agreement was signed between Maruti Suzuki’s management and the workers in the presence of officials from the Haryana Government, ending the 12-day agitation. This was the third such agitation since trouble first started in June.

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[caption id=“attachment_124949” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Maruti Employees will now set up a new union. AFP”]  [/caption]

When asked whether the agreement had conceded to the workers’ longstanding demand for a Union, a company official speaking to Firstpost said, “In many ways, the proposal to set up a grievance redressal committee and the labour welfare committee is addressing that issue. The two committees will have representation from both workers and management. The committees have legal backing and are not an ad hoc arrangement.”

He attributed the labour unrest to a lack of communication between the two parties. “The whole problem has been due to the communication gap. The feeling now is that these two committees will address this gap.”

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Responding to whether the company believed that they had seen the end of the demand for a union, he said, “It is difficult to predict the future. Two members of the top management have had mass interactions with workers this past week. A lot of things have gotten cleared out in this. It is initiatives like these that will eventually solve the problem. Agreements and strikes only go up to a point. Things seem to be looking up.”

Now less than a week after the two young leaders - Shiv Kumar and Sonu Gujjar - who led the hugely successful workers campaign, resigned from the company, amid rumours of a ‘sell out’, plans are afoot by workers at the Manesar plant to register a brand new union named the Maruti Suzuki Workers Union. The one led by the previous agitation was called Maruti Suzuki Employees Union.

Speaking to Firstpost on the phone, the president of the yet-to-be registered Union, Ram Mehar Singh, a permanent employee who has worked at Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant for four years now, confirmed that on Friday (November 4) they had applied for registration at Chandigarh for a workers union.

Ram Mehar Singh rejected the idea of having committees as an alternative to a union.

“The workers have decided that they don’t want a committee. Our demand has always been for a workers union. And this is our Constitutional right,” said Singh, the new workers leader.

Ram Mehar Singh added that there were reservations about the previous agitation which he said had caused losses to “both to the management and the workers. The 30 workers who resigned have left after settling their accounts. We believe they were sacrificed for a larger cause. However, we remain steadfast in our demand for a workers union.”

According to sources, the 30 workers who resigned where paid between Rs 12-15 lakh by the management, fuelling rumours of a ‘sell out’ by the two who were leading the agitation.

One of the two leaders, Shiv Kumar, speaking to Firstpost, denied allegations of betraying the workers. “More than half of the 30 workers, who eventually resigned, were not ready to take the agitation forward. How can we lead a fight, when we don’t have mass support. And so we decided to negotiate. Now allegations are being made that we took the money and left town. But the reality is different.

We mobilized a lot of support…all of India was with us. But people from Manesar were beginning to turn against us. There were chances that the revolt against would grow stronger. Although we did not want to compromise, the workers were not ready to cooperate with us.” Shiv Kumar said he was not in Manesar at the moment and had taken a decision on his next move.

While not all workers are willing to condemn their two former leaders, they are disappointed at what they see as a capitulation.

Speaking to Firstpost, Sunil Dutt, one of the 30 workers who resigned said, “The resignation of our Shiv Kumar and Sonu Gujjar did cause negative feeling among the workers who had put their jobs on the line for them. But the workers have decided not to give up and to go ahead with applying for the registration of a new union. We are ready to support them, to train them and help them take it forward.”

Sunil Dutt added that the workers were no longer in touch with Kumar or Gujjar. “Whether they sold out or whether they were compelled to resign, it is not for me say. We are not in touch with them anymore.”

There is a renewed sense of hope among workers with the formation of a new body to lead them. Ram Mehar Singh, the president of the yet-to-be registered Maruti Suzuki Workers Union, emphasized that they would not allow any third party interference. “This union will be independent. And only members of the plant will be members. Other parties will not be involved. If the Maruti Management wants to move in the right direction, they will support this union.”

What Maruti Suzuki will make of this remains to be seen. Last month, the company’s board of directors cleared the way for setting up a manufacturing facility in Gujarat, marking its first such facility outside Haryana (The first plant was set up in Gurgaon).

The labour problems of the last couple months has hit the leading car manufacturer hard, causing it an estimated loss of turnover worth Rs 2100 crore (since trouble first started in June). It reported a 59.81 per cent loss in net profit for the quarter ended September 30, largely due to its labour problems at the Manesar plant.

The company official from Maruti Suzuki attributed growing significance of trade unions in Manesar to the rapid industrialization of the belt. “Five years ago, this belt was barren. In just a couple of years, it has sprouted factories. That is the ground where trade unions operate. It is a constituency that is tempting for them.”