Sacked Maruti Suzuki Manesar plant workers, 147 of whom are in Gurgaon jail, have decided to mark July 18 as ‘Chalo Manesar’ day and have called upon workers and organisations to observe ‘solidarity’ actions across the country.
On July 18, 2012, violence had broken out at Maruti’s Manesar plant, leading to the death of an official, Awanish Kumar Dev, in the plant premises. After the incident, all 2,300 Maruti workers, permanent as well as on contract, were sacked. The plant is now running with an entirely new staff.
At a general body meeting held in Manesar on June 23, the Maruti Suzuki Workers Union had decided to campaign in July, starting with an indefinite sit-in demonstration and hunger strike in Manesar.
“We will campaign throughout this month leading up to 18th July across Haryana, and take the struggle to the centre of struggle of our worker brothers and sisters in Manesar, Gurgaon,” a release issued by Maruti Suzuki Workers Union’s provisional committee said.
The workers, who held dharnas, hunger strikes etc. during the whole of last year, have been demanding “an impartial investigation into the unfortunate death due to conspiracy of the pro-worker manager, reinstatement of illegally terminated workers of Maruti Suzuki Manesar plant, Suzuki Powertrain India plant and Suzuki Motorcycles India plant, and taking back all the fabricated criminal cases against Maruti Suzuki workers.
They alleged that the workers had been put behind bars without any enquiry and all their demands had been “disregarded” by the company management as well as the Haryana Government. They said despite various appeals by the families of those in jail, not a single one had been granted bail either in the lower or High Court.
The workers also alleged that labour laws were being openly flouted in the Manesar industrial belt, especially with regard to contract workers.