Strikes in Indian Automobile Companies

[ragav20693]

Unions suck the life of auto companies. They are the leeches. The american auto union(UAW-United Auto Workers Union) destroyed any innovation ,made workers lazy and one of the reasons for the bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler LLC.The American car makers were not able to make small cars profitably,so they made big cars,SUVS and full sized trucks. Why weren't they able to build small cars? The reason- Unions.

The UAW agreed to revise wages and contracts in 2007. So,now they are able to build cars profitably. Before the 2007 revision, UAW workers were payed 67 $ per hour including benefits .After the revision, they were reduced to 44$ per hour and new employees will be paid only $14 per hour.

Unions are bad- period. They discriminate within their own workers. Why should one earn $14 per hour and the other $46 when the work done is the same.

Unions can be outlawed. Most southern states of the US of A are right to work states where unions are not mandatory. If one particular worker doesn't want to be in a union, he can opt out and doesn't have to pay union dues while its compulsory to join and pay the unions in non- right to work states. Thats the reason why most foreign automakers having plants in USA- Toyota,Honda ,Nissan, Subaru,VW,Hyundai,Kia BMW have plants only in the right to work states.

[ragav20693]

The worst thing in Tamil Nadu is that each political party has its own union and even in a union here, they have polls to select which faction will run the union. When unions are supposed to represent workers, why is politics involved in it?

I really pity Hyundai. They must be paying a lot of money to the politicians to stop a major strike since the union bosses are controlled by them. TN government interfering is a farce.

Evidence : U can always see a convoy of politicians' cars near the Hyundai gate with party flags on them. What work do they have there other than making a mess?

[anjan_c2007]

The newer Maruti plant at Manesar is suffering a production cut because

of a strike that has started there since last weekend(Saturday 4th June)

.This plant manufactures the A Star, Swift,DZire and the SX4. These are

the higher end MSIL models.The Chairman Mr R.C. Bhargava now says that

the sales may be hit if the strike continues.The company is already

beset with long waiting lists for some of its diesel models.While the

Swift and DZire diesel variants have waiting times of 3-4 months, the

SX4 diesel has a one and a half month waiting time. The A Star is a

favourite for the export market which is likely to be impacted.

Yesterday was the fourth day and the production loss was estimated at

3000 units.The company has sacked 11 employees (including 8 office

bearers of an unrecognised union) which has now got the nod from the

Haryana Labour Commissioner.

The plant rolls out 1200 units per day during normal times.

On June 4 about 200 workers struck work from the second shift.There is

no sign of an immediate breakthrough.The workers are demanding the

recognition of a new union "Maruti Suzuki Employees Union" along with

retention of casual labourers.

At present there is one union "Maruti Udyog Kamgar Union" which is

mainly dominated by the workers from its Gurgaon facility.The Manesar

workers say their issues are different from those of the Gurgaon plant.

Truly so, because they make the premium and mega models and their problems may be of a mega scale and at a premium.

The industrial belt around Gurgaon-Manesar is reeling under such labour

disputes. The recent Honda (HMSIL) strike ended up in police firing.

MSIL is planning expansion of its capacity but the newer plants are being located in Rajasthan.

anjan_c20072011-06-08 17:14:50

[sgiitk]

Also, I heard that they are looking at Modiland! I sometimes wonder whether the workers in Haryana wish to commit hara-kiri. There was an incident when a top management officer was killed in cold blood. I am sure that Mamta will also be keen to get them to move. Industrial militancy killed  Kanpur industry about 30 years ago!

[anjan_c2007]

True sgiitk, West Bengal is also an old and chronic case, where trouble in the Uttarpara works of Hindustan Motors made the management set up plants near Chennai (now used for HM- Mitsubishi cars/SUV's assembly/manufacture).

HM also had a plant in Halol ,Gujarat to make Isuzu engines for the Contessa. GM came to India initially with HM as their partners for the Opel Astra. GM later took over that plant (to the best of my knowledge) and now the GM cars/SUV's are manufactured/assembled  there.

[anjan_c2007]

The strike continued on its 12th day yesterday. The production loss is a

whopping 12100 cars! The total monetary loss is pegged at Rs 340 crore.

The AITUC has said that the strike could soon spread to other units in the Gurgaon- Manesar-Dharuhera belt.

The demand is reinstatement of the 11 dismissed workers and green signal

for the formation of a new Union for the MSIL Manesar plant.

The Haryana Labour Commission does not want any new labour union to come

up. While the MSIL's stance is that they could permit a new union, but

with no outsiders as office bearers.

Meanwhile MSIL was also toying with the idea of shifting a part of

production of the models made in Manesar and resume manufacture at its

other facility. Cannot really fathom how that will come by?

The impasse is quite a blot to the largely peaceful going MSIL has been

having all these years. Meanwhile all the plants of MSIL will be shut

for production w.e.f. 20-25 June 2011, for the annual maintenance

ritual.

Way back in 1984, when they started production at Gurgaon, the Japanese

management philosophy and culture was a favourite for the media to write

about, discuss and debate. Therein, all workers right from the lowest

rung to the Chairman and MD would wear the same grey uniform and go to

the same canteen. The Managers and workers would be free to discuss

issues. Any worker finding fault anywhere in the assembly line had the

power to ring the alarm bell and the production would stop. The concept

of

[GOLF]

These workers should be suspended and even prosecuted and fined for causing this nonsense.If you show sympathy now it will lead to milliatnt trade unions which destroyed British car companies in 1970s.All this nonsense is due to booming economy.A similar Case is happening in Detriot - UAW  milked  the big three and still doing it at expense of now tax payers money for pension , insurance.

[sgiitk]

The Labour Commissioner is into the cat, trying for a compromise (more likely a management bow down). When will our unions realise that labour militancy is now history. They seem to forget that RC Bhargava as a former IAS knows most the the bureaucratic tricks.

[dr_nishu]

Strike at MSIL Plant ends:

Workers strike at Maruti

[anjan_c2007]

Thanks Dr Nishu for the update. Some more details here.

The 13 day strike as a majority of us have read or seen in the media,

has been called off after a truce was reached between the management and

workers. The finer details of the agreement reached are not made

public, but the major decisions agreed upon are:

- Reinstatement of the 11 dismissed workers, who will be however be subject to a departmental inquiry.

-The company has agreed for the constitution of a new union for the

Manesar plant. -The workers who participated in the strike will not get

paid for the period they did not report for duties- the curt no work no

pay logic applies !

Maruti lost a whopping Rs 380 crores for the estimated 12,600 cars that could not be produced.