As allegations of the workers' voice being suppressed using the power of money continue to stalk the Maruti management, trade unions associated with major political parties have come to the rescue of the employees. They have decided to stand with the workers till the time a union is registered. The work force went into a three-month-long strike at the company’s units in Haryana, in unison.
“If Maruti management thinks it can kill the movement of registering a union by the workers by offering money to their leaders, it is mistaken. We will support the workers from outside and ensure that their campaign succeeds,” Tapan Sen, General Secretary, Communist Party of India(Marxist) labour arm Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) said.
Maruti workers filed a fresh application, last week, to seek registration for their union, following the state’s Labour Department's refusal to pay heed to an earlier application.
Along with CITU, the CPI’s All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), have lent their support to the Maruti workers right from the initial stages of the unrest in June. It all started when the management foiled an attempt by workers to register the union, terminating and suspending a number of them.
According to AITUC Secretary D.L. Sachdev, the Registrar of Trade Unions in Gurgaon disregarded the earlier application on insubstantial grounds. “The Haryana government which is obviously unable to stand up to corporate influence has been working against the workers’ interests,” Sachdev was quoted a saying.
The Communist trade unions have pointed an accusing finger at the Maruti management for carrying out “unlawful activities” and assured complete backup to the campaign. It is learnt that they have advised workers to wait till the process of verification is completed by the state’s Labour Department in the coming weeks.
“If the state government still does not act on the new application, we will have to have to think about the next step of action,” Sachdev said.
It is interesting to note that India’s largest trade union, the BJP’s Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) and the Congress’ Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) are on the same wavelength as Left unions.
Thus, the rift between the workers and the management, followed by interminable controversies has left Maruti wandering in search of a permanent solution.
