The Haryana Government on Friday passed prohibitory orders on the ongoing workers' strike at Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant.
The matter has now been referred to the local labour court and industrial tribunal for adjudication. The workers' strike at the plant entered its seventh day with both sides refusing to budge.
A Haryana Labour Department official told
The court will now decide on four legal points — whether the strike is justified or not; if it is legal, then what relief can be granted; whether the termination of 11 workers was justified or not; and, if the termination is illegal, then what relief can be given to the workers.
Maruti's management welcomed the move by the State Government and said its stand that the workers' strike is illegal has been vindicated.
Terming this move of the State Government as “nonsense”, Mr Gurudas Das Gupta, General Secretary, AITUC, said: “The right to strike is a constitutional right and cannot be deliberated in a court of law. A judicial action is justified only in case of an essential service concerning a public utility. Manufacturing cars is not an essential service.”
AITUC members met the Haryana Chief Minister earlier on Friday and are expected to meet him again on Saturday.
“The company will try to resume production as soon as possible. Losses at the dealers and suppliers' end, as well as the company, have been mounting since the strike began,” sources close to the development said.
By the end of Friday, Maruti Suzuki is expected to have lost production of 6,400 cars and forfeited revenues of about Rs 220 crore. Over 2,000 striking workers are demanding recognition of a new union at the Manesar plant — Maruti Suzuki Employees' Union (MSEU). Refraining from any proceedings against the 11 office-bearers of the new union who were sacked is another demand.
The biggest challenge for the company right now is reducing the long waiting period for the popular diesel models of its Swift, DZire and the recently launched SX4.
The company's shares closed Friday at Rs 1,217.25 a piece, down by 1.32 per cent over the period of the last seven days on the Bombay Stock Exchange.