Maruti takes stiff stand; no compromise with bond

Maruti India is not ready to bend in the stand-off between management of the company and its workers at Manesar plant. Instead, it howls at them by saying that company will not start production in full swing until the workers sign a good conduct bond.

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R C Bhargava spoke to the reporters during the annual summit of Automotive Component Manufacturers Association's (ACMA). He clarified that the company cannot start full production if the workers don’t sign the bond. So far, 63 permanent workers at its first plant in Manesar have signed the 'good conduct bond'. However, the majority of the plant's 950-strong permanent workforce hasn’t. Bhargava cites influence of outside elements on them. He also said that Maruti India is willing to incur the current production loss, as indisciplined workers inside the plant can cause a greater loss to their production. The company dismissed five permanent workers, suspended 26 permanent workers and terminated the services of another 18 trainees alleging them of sabotaging production and causing quality problems in cars on the first two days of the impasse.

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He said due to the worker’s unrest at Manesar plant, the dealers have stopped taking further bookings for its new Swift hatchback and the backlog of orders is well above 90,000 units now. If statistics are to be followed, the firm produces about 1,200 units of Maruti Swift, A-Star and SX4 car models every day from the first plant, where the labour troubles are centered. This accounts for a production loss of about 6,626 units since last Monday, valued at over Rs 330 crore, as of September 5. The company is valuing good conduct above all now so that there is no repeat of quality issues that have come up in the past. The company wishes to resolve the matter with workers but wants them to understand that good conduct is must.

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Maruti India had commenced partial production of cars especially new Swift at its second plant in Manesar last Friday, starting it almost a month ahead of the schedule. The company has called in 150 adroit professionals and 50 engineers to ramp up the production. They are accompanied by 290 supervisors at Manesar plant taking the total workforce to about 500 till now.

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