Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), the country's largest passenger car maker, will invest a massive amount of Rs. 1,700 crore in developing its new 'plant-C' in Manesar near Gurgaon. The decision comes after the arrival of Osamu Suzuki, Chairman, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) who came to India on a week long visit to restore stability and repose faith in the company among the workers and labour union.
Randeep Singh Surjewala, Haryana Industry Minister during the current monsoon session of Parliament revealed that MSIL is working hard to reach its full production output within a month from its plant-A and plant-B facilities at Manesar, which resumed their operations on August 21 after the unfortunate deadly riot of July 18.
According to Surjewala, MSIL's senior management has full faith in Haryana government's support and cooperation with speculations regarding the company's decision of shifting the Manesar unit to some other place, being completely false and baseless. Reportedly, a balance has been restored at Manesar plants.
Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Chief Minister (CM), Haryana, having met twice with the MSIL's top bosses said, “We would not allow anyone to vitiate industrial peace in the state and the well being and security of the industrial community in Haryana is our responsibility, which we shall dutifully discharge.”
Reportedly, Osamu Suzuki wants the cause of violence to be known and is seeking Haryana government's help in the matter. During a news conference on Sunday Suzuki said, “We are introspecting. If we find the reasons, we will address them". Suzuki and Maruti Suzuki's senior bosses want to make sure that the real reasons for the riot to be revealed and proper action against the convicts must be taken. Expressing his disgust at the incident Suzuki also said, “I have read in some newspapers in Japan that the violence was caused because of caste reasons. This is wrong. The worker and the supervisor, with whom the problem started, belonged to the same caste”.
He also revealed that SMC has no intentions of shifting the Manesar facility and the media speculations of his intentions to shift the Manesar facility to Gujarat are baseless. He further added, “I have told the chief ministers of both states that Haryana is my first home and Gujarat is my second home”.
Suzuki also mentioned that SMC shares a 30 year old relationship with India and the country accounts for one-third of SMC's global after tax profits with over 50 per cent of its Vehicle production outside Japan.
According to R C Bhargava, Chairman, MSIL, prior to the deadly riot of July 18, the company had already informed the Manesar workers union that contacts of most of workers would be made permanent by October 2013.
