‘Until I raised my voice for a union, I was a model employee'

Mr Sonu Kumar Gujjar, the shy 24-year-old labour leader at Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant, hails from the small village of Jahangirpuri. He is the man behind the strike at the country's largest car maker.

“I was a model employee,” he says. So what happened, we ask. “I decided to exercise my fundamental right of association.” The company has been refusing to allow a union to be formed.

Excerpts from the interview:

How long have you been working for Maruti Suzuki India Ltd?

My first job is with Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. I was trained at ITI, Azamgarh before joining Maruti. It has been five years now. I belong to the second batch of the company.

How would you want to chronicle these five years?

I have been a model employee for the company. I got the MD Award for 2011, which is given once a year for quality production and behaviour at work. I also bagged the ‘Best Operators' award, which is given every six months. My attendance has been a consistent 98-99 per cent. And, now, merely because I am demanding a union (guaranteed by our Constitution), the company has been at its vindictive best towards me and my fellow workers. They sacked me, put me behind bars for three days for a crime I never committed, and have treated me like a psychopath.

It has been a prolonged battle with the management. How are you managing your finances?

I haven't earned a penny since August. My parents have been supporting me. My family is here (at the factory site) to support my struggle. In fact, the Panchayat Head of 24 villages of my area has come down to support my cause.

What do you have to say about Maruti Suzuki's Gurgaon union? Why have they not lent you support?

I don't want to comment on the Gurgaon union. Most of them are old, and are beyond their prime. While at Manesar, 80 per cent of the workers are young and unmarried. We know about our rights and we will fight to the end.

Are you looking at external affiliations for the new union that you seek?

I have no affiliations and I seek none for the union either. We want an independent union at the plant.

Do you want to pass on any message to the management?

I would just like to ask them where I went wrong. Our demands are very basic — reinstate those under suspension (as per the new agreement, the company has promised to reinstate some of them) and allow us to form a union. We will then take our company to newer heights.