The provisional committee of the Maruti Suzuki Workers Union (MSWU), consisting mostly of sacked workers from the Manesar plant after violence in the plant premises in July 2012, have claimed victory in the union elections held last week.

In a press release, MSWU said they had “reclaimed” the union, after two years, by winning 11 out of 12 posts. On Saturday, at a gate meeting, the new elected President Pawan Kumar and General Secretary Sanjay Kumar, along with the workers and members of the Suzuki Powertrain India Employees Union and Suzuki Motorcycles India Employees Union, also announced the “re-formation” of the union on April 4. “We have won 11 of 12 seats against the management installed puppet panel in the union elections April 4, with a margin of 80 per cent for most members (of the 1,000 votes polled),” said the MSWU release.

The union said it would struggle for the rights of all the 2,300 terminated and the 147 jailed workers since July 18, 2012, demanding that they be given “dignity as workers, the right to form a union, and the rights of contract workers.”

MSWU also claimed that the Maruti management had recently hired 250 new recruits from the Gurgaon plant allegedly to pit them against the Manesar workers and disenfranchise the jailed and terminated workers.

Following the violence in the company’s Manesar plant in July 2012 leading to the death of an HR official, the management had terminated the employment of all workers (permanent and contract).

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