The workers of the Indian arm of American car major General Motors India on Monday staged a symbolic protest at the Halol plant, which was permanently closed by the company recently.
The workers protested against the company's transfer policy and the compensation package that was offered after GM decided to consolidate its manufacturing activity at its second plant in Talegaon, Maharashtra.
The protest sit-in was held in the morning on Monday.
"What more ironic it can get than the workers protesting at the gates of the company on the Labour Day itself. There is no communication from the company on our demands. Now the only hope is the state government. The next course of action will be decided in a day or two," said Rachit Soni, President, General Motors Employee Union.
Soni claimed that out of the 600-odd workers, over 300 workers attended the protest sit-in with placards. Out of the over 1,000 workers, nearly 50 had accepted the financial package of up to ₹10 lakh, while over 350 had opted for a transfer to Talegaon last October.
According to the workers’ sources, about 400 more are likely to accept the transfer to the Talegaon plant. Meanwhile, the State government officials informed that the Union had approached the Gujarat High Court seeking State government's intervention after the talks with management failed. The government has assured to examine the matter under the appropriate provisions of law.