• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Port Info

• Ships in Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• Business Line
• The Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

New Delhi , Aug. 13

THE tremors caused by the labour unrest at Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) seems to be spreading to other quarters as well. In fact, there is a strong possibility of the making of another labour tussle, albeit of a different kind, at the centre of which is car manufacturer Maruti Udyog.

After labour strife in the company in 2000 which saw the dismissal of several employees, this time round it seems numerical strength is going to play an important role. The company and the union both make claims and counter claims of numbers pertaining to union membership and contract workers.

The Maruti Udyog Employees Union (MUEU), which is supported by the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), has claimed that its membership comprises about 3,500 workers out of which 2,300 are ex-workers of Maruti and 1,200 are current workers and has demanded that its members retrenched by the company in the past be reinstated.

A Maruti spokesperson, when contacted, however said that not a single worker at Maruti is a member of the MUEU, adding that MUEU does not have anything to do with the company. "There are 3,300 workers at Maruti producing 2,000 cars a day, and not a single one is a member of the MUEU", he said.

MUEU members, however, stated that the union had been "unfairly" derecognised by the company management in 2000, after which a "dummy" union was set up. "MUEU was established in 1983, and the Maruti management had been conducting dialogues with this union till 2001. Many of our members were made to opt for the voluntary retirement schemes while around 92 were dismissed in 2000", Mr Mathew Abraham, General Secretary, MUEU, said.

Members of the union, along with senior AITUC officials, had met with the Prime Minister in this regard on August 3 and submitted a memorandum.

According to Mr D.L. Sachdev, National Secretary, AITUC, in the letter to the Prime Minister, the union has asked that the workers who were dismissed or forced into opting for a VRS be reinstated.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Sehwag opens food court

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line