Comments
The eight-day-long workers' strike at General Motors's (GM) factory at Halol, Gujarat, has led to a production loss of 600 units for the US-based automaker.
There is no indication as to when the stand-off, which started on Wednesday, would end. But some decision might emerge out of a meeting with the Additional Labour Commissioner on Thursday where both workers and company officials would be present.
The demand
The striking workers are demanding permanent contracts for temporary labour, reduction of excess workload and payment of allowance on overtime wages. However, according to company sources, 550 out of the 900 permanent workers have already returned to the factory.
“Until Tuesday there were 500 workers on duty; today 50 more workers reported for work. But around 350 workers have not yet come back to duty. Our production is now at 70 units a day in a single shift. This strike is surprising as on December 15 we had already signed a three-year wage agreement and formed a union,” said Mr P. Balendran, Director and Vice-President, GM India.
GM's Halol plant has an annual capacity of 85,000 units and produces models like the Aveo, Uva, Cruze, Optra and the Tavera. When fully operational, production is at 190 units a day across two shifts. The Halol plant had seen a similar incident just last October, which had led to a production loss of 450 units and prompted the formation of the GM Employees' Union.
However, the company feels that the current agitation is being led by another workers' union, the Congress-affiliated Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), which is looking for new membership from GM workers. “This strike is more due to inter-union rivalries,” said Mr Balendran.
An official from GM Employees' Union, said that the biggest cause for dissent is the transfer of some employees from the factories to the dealer (showroom) end. However, he added that this was not a major issue and the loss of production should be covered in the next one or two weeks.
Meanwhile, an INTUC official said the strike is likely to continue till the workers' demands are met. “There are 800 temporary workers who need to be made permanent. Also, we want reduction of excess workload and overtime wage allowances to be paid. People who complained were transferred to the dealers and they need to be allowed to come back,” said Mr Nihil Mehta, President, INTUC Gujarat and National Secretary, INTUC.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.