The country’s top ranking passenger car maker, Maruti Suzuki, has resumed only a slight part of its production at its plant in Manesar, with the help of workers being hired from outside the company. This is a relief for the company that faced strike, which is yet quite far from over. The strike was followed by unrest caused over the signing of a good conduct bond.
Another news that pacifies the frantic Maruti camp is the decision to start production at its new assembly line in Manesar in the coming days. The announcement has come quite earlier from what was planned. A company spokesperson said that "We are working towards commissioning the new plant. We are hopeful that we will be able to get the plant up and running within this week." He also said that “The new plant, which was earlier planned to be commissioned by end of September, is highly automated and so will require less staff than required at the first plant.”
Maruti Suzuki has roped in 300 ITI professionals who would work with the company on a contract basis and would function in both new as well as existing plant, which is the venue of the current unrest. The fact that adds fuel to the fire is the per day sales figure. Maruti has managed to roll-out just 160 vehicles in the last two days, compared to around 1,200 units it manufactures on normal days.
While the company confirms to hire more working force if the situation demands, there seems to be no cessation to the unrest that has disrupted the work at the plant. In fact, the workers who are a part of the agitation have got additional support from trade unions in Gurgaon, Dharuhera and Bawal. Even amidst all this, the company has not change its stance of allowing workers to be a part of the plant only if they accept the bond.
Maruti’s spokesperson said that "The Company has had no conversations with workers. We are not negotiating with them. The issue here is of ultimate quality of the product. If the workers are not willing to sign the bond and assure they will follow quality standards, and not hamper production, we will not allow them”.
Of late, the company revealed the new version of the Swift and till now has recorded demand of 80,000 units. This could be a major reason that has compelled the company to start the new plant in Manesar. Regarding this, Maruti Suzuki spokesperson said that, “Since the company is short of manpower at this stage, starting operations at this second plant will be a shot in the arm for the company. In all, the company now has 680 trained and experienced people available for production. All these people are being deployed to start and scale up production at the plant."
Thus, in wake of the uneven pace at which things are going, Maruti’s new plant is expected to compensate the loss and bring back the actual flow.
