Maruti Suzuki India's Manesar plant breathed a sigh of relief as the 14-day-long strike finally expired on 21st October, following a tripartite agreement between the management, workers and the Haryana Government, to pacify things.
As per the points that became a part of the agreement, the management showed its willingness to take back 64 permanent workers, however, another 30 ousted employees will not come under the purview of reinstatement. It has also given a nod on bringing back around 1,200 casual workers, internal sources said.
The move, which is expected to put oil on the troubled waters, gave a push to the shares of Maruti Suzuki that escalated to over 3 per cent in early trade. The share responded positively soon after reports of the fortnight-long strike at its Manesar plant came to its end. The stock shot up to Rs. 1117.55 and at 09:30 am, shares of the company were learnt to be 2.4% higher at Rs. 1102.25.
Setting up of two committees, directed towards grievance redressal and paying heed to labour welfare, was also given a green signal in order to encourage a peaceful and complaisant working environment at the plant. The positive move was finally put into action after several fresh rounds of talks, starting Wednesday, in the presence of senior officials of the Haryana government.
Before extracting out any conclusion, it is believed that Maruti Suzuki India management put light on individual cases of all employees against whom the legal decision was taken. It further calculated the degree of indiscipline in each case. Wherever the charges were not grave, and carried a scope of clemency, the sources said, Maruti Suzuki India management decided to take back the employees. The agreement, finally, had something to look forward to, as the company announced the reinstatement of 64 employees.
"However, in case of another 30 employees, the charges were found to be of serious nature. The agreement provides that these employees are suspended," a source said. In a bid to meet the requirements of the ongoing expansion at the Manesar plant, Maruti Suzuki agreed to take back the casual workers too.
As matter of fact, workers at the plant called for a strike on 7th October, protesting against the expulsion of employees and demanded the reinstatement of about 1,200 casual workers and 44 permanent workers.
During the period of strike, the agreement signed between the management and workers said that the employees will face no work, no pay as long as the deadlock continues.
As for now, a 'Grievance Redressal Committee' has been set up that will be represented, both, by the management as well as the workers. In addition, a Labour Officer from the state government will be a permanent member of the committee and will review its proceedings, the sources said.
