After the police took control over the Manesar plant of the country's largest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), the facility has been closely guarded with its gates shut. Onlookers can spot a total of three fire brigade vans, many policemen and couple of workers inside the premises. The area surrounding gate number two stands as a witness of the destruction and vandalism that took place there. The infuriated mob of the workers set the security office and the fire safety room ablaze. According to the security officials, at least 500 workers were part of that mob.
According to a company statement, “The sequence of events began with a worker beating up a supervisor on the shop floor. The workers’ union prevented the management from taking disciplinary action against the worker. They blocked the exit gates and held the executives hostage. To resolve the issue amicably, members of the senior management met the union. During the talks, the workers attacked the senior management.”
There were total 85 casualties in the rampage out of which 47 are still in hospitals. Till news last came in, police had arrested 88 persons who were allegedly involved in the incident. Additionally, a special Investigation Team (SIT) has been put in place to investigate the matter. The team, which comprises a total of six inspectors, will be spearheaded by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Ravinder Tomar. Police has booked the arrested individuals under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) like voluntarily causing hurt (323 IPC), murder (302 IPC), attempt to murder (307 IPC), rioting (147 IPC), rioting armed with a deadly weapon (148 IPC) and unlawful assembly (149 IPC).
Meanwhile, the car maker has blamed the workers' union for planning the whole remonstration beforehand, while labelling the whole incident as “unprovoked and gruesome”.
The company statement goes on to report, “By any account, this is not an “industrial relations” problem in the nature of management-worker differences over issues of wages or working conditions. Rather, it is an orchestrated act of mob violence at a time when operations had been normal over the past many months. Such acts of violence – pre-planned, unprovoked and gruesome – have implications beyond one company or region. They are negative trigger for existing companies and regions across the country, as also for prospective investors and job seekers.”
Meanwhile, the Maruti Suzuki Workers Union (MSWU) stated that the company has been very unjust in accusing the workers and blamed Maruti Suzuki instead of hiring goons to create the violence. Firing right back at the company, President, MSWU, Ram Meher, said “We have the workers and the company’s welfare in mind and have worked towards it after the resolution of the dispute last year, and to blame the current violence on us is unjust.”
