Clashes in Maruti Suzuki's Manesar unit; 1 dead and 40 injured

Maruti Suzuki’s production plant in Manesar has grabbed the spotlight yet again for unwanted reasons. The facility recently witnessed a conflict that claimed one individual’s life and left 40 others wounded. The clash happened between the workers of the plant and the company’s managerial staff on 18^th July 2012, which resulted in the shut-down of operations.

Commenting on the mishap, Gurgaon Police Commissioner, K. K. Sindhu quoted, “One person died of burn injuries in the incident.”

The infuriated workforce of MSIL set the plant’s administration wing ablaze, wherein the company was producing some of the iconic models like Swift and the DZire. The main reason behind the conflict was the suspension of an employee, who worked in quality department, on the grounds of disputes with senior staff. Fury that followed left the company aghast with several cars parked around factory being set on fire by the agitated employees.

General Secretary, Maruti Suzuki Workers' Union (MSWU), Sarabjeet Singh commented, “When we opposed, they misbehaved with us and even suspended the worker.”

Maruti Suzuki Workers' Union (MSWU), the registered union of workers at MSIL’s Manesar unit, has asked for the call back of the suspension order. Present since March 2012, the union debarred the company representatives from exiting the factory premises.

Briefing about the whole situation, a Senior Maruti Executive said “After suspending the worker who had misbehaved with his supervisor on the shop-floor today, the MSWU functionaries insisted that company officials should not leave the premises unless the issue was resolved. When management executives tried to negotiate, the workers turned violent and many managerial staff were injured.”

The morning shift workers went ahead to stage a sit-in remonstration demanding an instant verdict from the company’s stable. Feeling that the matter has gone from bad to worse, Maruti Suzuki sought help from the police to manhandle the situation. By the end of the day, the protest by agitated workers turned a shade of violence causing casualties and the death. Reportedly, the clash between the two groups turned bitter after one of the company’s supervisors made a rational comment on an employee.

The Manesar plant seems to be going through a bad phase, since it witnessed an unexpected strike by workers demanding the formation of an autonomous workers’ union. This landed a severe blow on the reputation of the car maker and incurred huge losses. During the tenure of strike, which went on for 59 days, the largest car maker of the country faced a production loss of around 80,000 units. The recent unfortunate incident appears to be a sequel to the past mishap and is not likely to settle soon.