Maruti's Manesar plant will resume production from Saturday after the 13-day-long strike by workers ended on Thursday night.

The strike was called off after the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, mediated between the workers and the management of Maruti Suzuki India's Manesar plant. Later, an agreement was signed with the management agreeing to re-instate all the sacked 11 employees.

Second union

On the key demand for a second union, a Maruti official close to development told Business Line that “there will be no second union. However, we will take back all 11 sacked employees and conduct internal enquiries into their cases. Some action will be taken against those found guilty.”

Instead of enforcing no-work-no-pay rule of eight day's salary cut for every single day of the stir, the MSI management has decided to deduct only one day's salary for each day of strike. Friday was a holiday since the workers wished to conduct pooja at the plant and would work on Sunday in lieu.

When asked why the agreement did not even mention the demand for formation of a union, Mr Anupam Mallick, Joint Labour Commissioner of Haryana, told Business Line that “there was no mention of union formation in the agreement because it was a fundamental right of workers, which is not for us to decide.”

“The management has no right to intervene in workers' right to union formation. Although they will hold a departmental enquiry into the issue of 11 sacked members and take the required action, nobody will lose their jobs,” said Ms Satvanti Ahlawat, Labour Commissioner of Haryana.

Workers' view

Mr Sonu Kumar, President of the proposed union, said he was satisfied happy with the outcome. “We have selected seven office bearers who will form the new union. Paper work toward the formation of the second union is in process. As soon our application, which was submitted on June 3, gets approved by the Haryana Labour Department, Maruti Suzuki Employees Union will come into effect,” he said.

Mr Gurudas Das Gupta, General Secretary, AITUC, which was supporting the workers, said, “It is a positive development of the united trade union movement.”

The Manesar plant rolls out about 1,200 units every day in two shifts. The factory produces hatchbacks Swift and A-Star and DZiRE sedan.

In the 13-day strike, the company lost production of 13,400 cars costing a revenue loss of Rs 460 crore. The company's shares closed at 1,189.45 on BSE on Friday.

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