Gurgaon auto hub disrupted by strike

Over 100,000 workers in more than 70 auto factories  in RICO plant, Gurgaon disrupted the work by joining a one-day strike, impacting production in the country’s largest auto hub. India’s largest automobile companies such as Munjal-promoted Hero Honda and Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India Ltd (HMSI)  were impacted by it. Gurgaon-Manesar-Bawal auto hub in Haryana accounts for 60 per cent of the country’s auto production and employs about one million workers. The strike that had hit Gurgaon auto hub was called upon to protest against the management for the death of 26-year-old worker Ajit Kumar in component maker RICO Auto on October 18 after sustaining an injury during a clash between two groups of company employees. The agitation caused violence, with a RICO Auto official beaten by workers after the management declined to withdraw cases against 16 workers for earlier misconduct.

Suresh Gaud, Gurgaon District Secretary of the the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), affiliated to the Communist Party of India, has claimed victory for the strike. AITUC claims that companies have been hiring armed guards to control workers by physical force and they have already brought this to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s notice. Most managements in the area are trying to play down the incident, broadly viewing it as another attempt by AITUC to spread its influence. “Except for the two factories (RICO and Sunbeam which supplies to the Hero group) where there was a problem, I don’t think any other factory was closed. About 4,000 to 5,000 workers from various factories joined in the prayer meeting to show their sympathy for those who died,” says Surinder Kapur, chairman of the Sona group, which has many factories based in the belt.

“Workers are boycotting work and have joined the procession, though the general office staff has reported for duty. The assembly lines are not working,” a senior Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) official said to agencies. Hero Honda, the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, and its management also admitted that the strike has made some impact on production. “The recurring labour issue in the Gurgaon-Manesar belt is severely impacting the industrial environment in the state, and hence it is indeed a concern for all industry. The ongoing workers’ problem at some of the auto component suppliers’ plants has impacted our operations.” There is also shortage of components which has affected production. However, there has been no impact at the Dharuhera plant because today was a planned holiday as part of the Diwali festivities.

Others say that if the agitation is not resolved, the impact could be huge. “These are major component manufacturers, and we do not carry very much inventory,” says  R C Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti, which was not, however, impacted by the strike. AITUC which tried to make a dent in the auto belt way back in the 90's in Maruti Udyog, played a key role in the dispute between workers and management in the HMSI dispute in 2007. “It’s a two- way process, managements have to be careful in the way they handle workers they have to be effective,” says R C Bhargava chairman of Maruti Udyog, which was not impacted by the stir. “You will always have political parties who will see workers as a vote bank, it is not new,” he added.

“Many companies in order to reduce their wage bill have resorted to go for contract labour using loopholes in the labour laws. They have looked at a short-term benefit but long-term you alienate both contract labour and fullt-time employees. Only a spark is needed to rekindle it,” says a chief executive of a leading auto company in the area. AITUC secretary general M K Pandhe says the main issue is the non-implementation of labour laws in the state of Haryana whether it was on working hours or minimum wages. He argues that companies were not allowing workers to form unions.

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