It is five weeks since workers of motorcycle major Bajaj Auto’s Chakan plant stopped work, and many of those who turned up in large numbers at the Pune Labour Court today said they are bracing themselves for three months of no work and, hence, no pay.

In the labour court today, a few hundred workers thronged the court room and adjoining corridors as the Union, and submitted a written statement. Judge N.S. Kole adjourned the hearing to August 2 to enable the company to respond.

“We have been preparing since last year for this situation,” one worker said, adding that they had no immediate financial worries. Besides, Maruti Jagdale, an advisor and virtual spokesperson for the Shramik Ekta Mahasangh, an umbrella organisation of 88 labour unions from the Pune industrial belt that is supporting the workers demands, declared that financial hardship was a non-issue.

Long-term interest

“(Switzerland-based global union federation) IndustriALL has pledged its support, and getting even Rs 5 crore in financial support will not be a problem,” he claimed.

Responding on the matter via e-mail, Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj said, “Being unaware of matters internal to their organisation (Union) I can't tell how much of this bravado is for public posturing and how much of it is actually true; nevertheless, my primary concern is not whether the union lacks resources or resolve, but whether they possess the intellect and the attitude to know and to do that which is in the long-term interest of their members in these difficult times.”

Bajaj Auto’s Chakan plant had been operating at 75-80 per cent of the installed capacity even before the strike began, points out an anlyst. The general slowdown in bike sales, as well as shifting part of Chakan's production to Bajaj's Aurangabad plant will partly mitigate the impact of the strike, he said, adding, “The picture will become clearer when the July sales number comes out.”

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