[Kool_Kid]

Yes this is true , I know some one who use to work at maruti and left . even a second delay in the punch gets you half day.

That is the reason many workers have left Maruti ....

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by CtrlAltDel

@honetybee: Though its a Japanese MNC, its possible that Indian low level workers are not being treated on par with their counterparts in Japan. It happens even in many IT MNCs. I for example had once worked in a company where any American employee flying down to India would fly business class where as any Indian employee (other than a few of the top brass) would fly economy.

I doubt that. It's because in a country like Japan, the way to strike work is to increase production so that the Just In Time inventory management of the company goes for a toss! So I tend to believe that if an Indian worker is docked half a day's pay for a second late, the same rule also holds true for a Japanese worker in Suzuki's Japan plant (disclaimer: this is my guess, from whatever knowledge I have gained of the Japanese industry).

Remember this is a country where a train driver will apologize to the passengers for a second's delay in reaching a station. The time management ideas of the Japanese will not go down well with the unskilled labour of our country.

[.sushilkumar]

Originally Posted by honeybee

I doubt that. It's because in a country like Japan, the way to strike work is to increase production so that the Just In Time inventory management of the company goes for a toss! So I tend to believe that if an Indian worker is docked half a day's pay for a second late, the same rule also holds true for a Japanese worker in Suzuki's Japan plant (disclaimer: this is my guess, from whatever knowledge I have gained of the Japanese industry).

Remember this is a country where a train driver will apologize to the passengers for a second's delay in reaching a station. The time management ideas of the Japanese will not go down well with the unskilled labour of our country.

An Old lalu dailogue come to mind on seeing above " tum hamein japan do hum bihar bana denge and vice versa" ( translated " give me japan , i will make it bihar) when Japanese have offered to dig out all it;s mineral wealth of united bihar . jokes apart ..

Been in tokyo for good 3 months recently , i second your thoughts here wrt to Japanese time management system.

But

you are in India my friend. thumb rule is "you need to adjust your business according to country where you are doing business". if they expect workers to follow the Japanese way than worker should paid in yen as well here in India or equivalent. ( i know yen is highly DE-valued), give them the excellent working conditions workers in japan enjoy , no work after 8 hours even if there is a fire in plant and all the goodies like health care, free canteen facilities etc. why Suzuki did 't extended those benefits to workers in India. Do i need to write here the reason . i guess no.everybody knows it, understands it that they are simply exploiting the workers here. they have deliberately kept the wages low and kept the overtime rates high. why?

problem is that Our labor laws are spineless and are not implemented fully . add to that a corrupt govt and politicians . all parent Suzuki needs to do is keep the politicians in their hand ( which they already have ) and enjoy all the benefits.

has anybody thought why this labor problem has started after govt sold it;s majority stake to Suzuki ?

[mayankjha1806]

Originally Posted by CtrlAltDel

I for example had once worked in a company where any American employee flying down to India would fly business class where as any Indian employee (other than a few of the top brass) would fly economy.

Yeah this still happens in almost all the IT companies in India, only a very few are exceptions. When i say few they are really really few in numbers.

I seem to be believing in Tahelka's story, recently read an article on TOI about the leader of the striking union. He seems to be a sensible guy (At least thats what was written) and it seemed like a Man on a mission (and not for some cheap gains or thrills). Forgot his name. Will search and post.

PS : Got it, his name is Sonu Gujjar from Harayana. Here is the link to ET.

http://articles.economictimes.indiat...ar-sonu-gujjar

[Chetan_Rao]

There's hardly a black & white perspective to this dispute.

1. Industries are run on profit-at-any-cost principles (all industries, not just automotive), and no company will put its employees' welfare above itself, ever. It's not necessarily good or bad, it's just how the industrial environment is these days, unfortunately.

2. Unions on the other hand, are highly politicized, and workers' welfare pretty often figures very low in their list of priorities.

3. India is a hub of high-availability, low-wage and low-skill labor (again, in all industries), and given our market and socio-economic dynamics (education, cost-of-living, poverty etc., just to name a few), this is a vicious circle that'll probably never end, unless some drastic measures are taken. But then, we're nothing more than a vote on election day to our decision-makers, are we?

[mayankjha1806]

Looks like there are some folks who have been arrested. There was the news in ET this morning. As stated in the paper, this does not look like doing any good to Maruti.

Police had arrested three main leaders representing the workers - president Sonu Gujjar, general secretary Shiv Kumar and Ravinder Kumar, an executive committee member of Maruti Suzuki Employees Union. The three will continue to be in judicial remand at Bhondsi jail for 14 days as the court dismissed their bail plea. They are likely to file new bail applications on Tuesday

Link to the news
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/10047564.cms

[.sushilkumar]

^^^ So suzuki has resorted to arm twisting tactics now . All i can say is that they have highly egoistic management who is not really interested in listening to workers grievances and is hell bend on crushing the workers movement. All in all perfect recipe for disaster if they think , they can control them this way . the arrest of leaders will only strengthen the worker resolve to fight till the end. If MSIL thinks that they can replace the 1000+ workers over night than they are highly mistaken .

I only prey that they are not torturing the arrested leader in jail and making them into submission.

[drmohitg]

I somehow believe in karma and the saying that it all comes back to haunt you. May be the arm twisting techniques being used by Suzuki due to there arrogance will ultimately strengthen the Worker's resolve and the strike will get ugly. Result: No cars produced and customers will start looking at other options in today's highly competitive car market.

[revintup]

Read this in The Hindu's editorial.Article is written by Kanwaldeep Singh,GM-corporate,MSIL.


'Some workers deliberately caused quality problems.They caused dents in the cars and damaged components fitted on them.Once this was detected in the quality tests,it was decided to halt production'.


So in what trust do we now buy cars from India's most trusted car manufacturer?Its an open admission from the GM,yet the dealers act as if all's well.

What if a car passed a QC yet is found faulty by the customer after he buys it?Recalling cars wont work because its not a single component causing these problems.

So whats the solution to prospective customers.I can see many cancellations following this article.

Fellow BHPians,please be thorough with your PDIs if you are going to buy a Maruti.

Mods: Can the title be edited because until now it was only rumours and hearsay but coming from the GM himself,all BHPians must be alerted.

[arun_josie]

Finally, relief for the customers who are waiting for the Swift delivery. Month-long strike at Maruti's Manesar plant ends.

Month-long strike at Maruti's Manesar plant ends - The Economic Times

Extract from Economictimes,


India's top car maker, said a month-long strike at one of its plants that severely hit production ended on Saturday after workers agreed to sign discipline agreements.

Workers at Maruti's Manesar factory in Haryana walked out on August 29 after the company demanded they sign a "good conduct bond", saying some had engaged in sabotage.

A Maruti spokesman said in a statement on Saturday it reached a "settlement" and that all workers had agreed to sign the "good conduct bond".

Maruti will not pay the striking workers for the period of the strike, the spokesman said, adding the 44 employees against whom it had taken disciplinary action would not be taken back.

Representatives of the workers were not available for comment.

Maruti, 54.2 percent owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor , had said it would not compromise with the workers who were refusing to sign the discipline agreement, and was steadily hiring new employees.

In June, about 800 workers went on a 13-day strike at the plant, crippling production and leading to more than $90 million in lost output.

The company did not give a figure for the production loss in the latest strike. It is due to release sales figures for September later on Saturday.

[sdp1975]

The workers have finally given in and signed the "good conduct bond".

For these folks, losing a few days wages means compromising on basic needs like food :

Strike costs Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant workers food and family - Economic Times

[anjan_c2007]

It was success at last for the Maruti management at Manesar.The good conduct bond hopefully in the long run will be quite beneficial for the company and its products.Its victory with a capital "V" for Mr R.C. Bhargava. It was perhaps his brainchild and the company emerged from the imbroglio, uncertainity, unrest and quality problems plaguing the Manesar unit.
Let us wait and watch as to how successful this bond will be in the long run. The industrial belt here is quite disturbed due to perennial labour problems.Moreover, there was some support from bigwigs outside to the Maruti unrest. But these bigwigs other than drawing out mileage cannot feed the affected workers and their families.
We lack the required devotion to work and the needed motivation to produce the best. Each worker must realise that only if the products are successful and sold widely in huge numbers to generate profits, the benefits will at one time or the other trickle down to the lowest level.
I also hope other industries in the belt will take cue from Maruti and set the ball rolling to make the Manesar-Gurgaon belt productive and regain its good name. This belt has a tarnished image and due to the uncertainty and labour trouble no industrialist is thinking of or willing to investing afresh here. Most are moving out of here, whenever they have to expand their capacities or diversify as the climate here is not at all conducive.

[zzzehar]

Originally Posted by Kool_Kid

Yes this is true , I know some one who use to work at maruti and left . even a second delay in the punch gets you half day.

That is the reason many workers have left Maruti ....

I call that discipline - being punctual is the most basic etiquette, be it your personal or professional life. If someone is literally getting late by a second every alternate day, they might as well learn the first time and be in before time.

Maruti Udyog is correct on its part. There should be zero tolerance against any breach of code of conduct.

The best we can hope for now is that the quality team does their job well and do not get complacent.

[ankurvirmani19]

At last the strike has ended and customers like me can now get car delivery soon.
However, i certainly hope his does not happen again in future.

[.sushilkumar]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

The workers have finally given in and signed the "good conduct bond".

For these folks, losing a few days wages means compromising on basic needs like food :

Strike costs Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant workers food and family - Economic Times

Well that;s what the ground truth is . MSIL knows that the workers cannot live on their savings for too long and will have to budge sooner or later. they were just bidding their time .

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

It was success at last for the Maruti management at Manesar.The good conduct bond hopefully in the long run will be quite beneficial for the company and its products.Its victory with a capital "V" for Mr R.C. Bhargava. It was perhaps his brainchild and the company emerged from the imbroglio, uncertainity, unrest and quality problems plaguing the Manesar unit.

Yes , it;s a success but till how far this remains is some thing which i will be interested in seeing. it might be a capital V for Mr bhargava but i suspect if it will stay like that for long .

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

We lack the required devotion to work and the needed motivation to produce the best. Each worker must realise that only if the products are successful and sold widely in huge numbers to generate profits, the benefits will at one time or the other trickle down to the lowest level.
I also hope other industries in the belt will take cue from Maruti and set the ball rolling to make the Manesar-Gurgaon belt productive and regain its good name. This belt has a tarnished image and due to the uncertainty and labour trouble no industrialist is thinking of or willing to investing afresh here. Most are moving out of here, whenever they have to expand their capacities or diversify as the climate here is not at all conducive.

[/quote]

required devotion to work and the needed motivation to produce the best always comes from the top. If management is not interested in workers welfare than workers are within their rights to fight it out and if Mgmt keeps the workers interest at par with company;s and their interests, Such strikes will never happen. All the profits getting generated are going back to parent suzuki and share holders, worker doesn;t get even a pat on their back for good works leave alone decent payments, specially so when more than half of the workers are contractual labor.

The unrest happens when flow from top is not smooth . if we expect the workers to work like slaves than i am extremely sorry my friend. we are living in modern time not in British era.

Originally Posted by zzzehar

I call that discipline - being punctual is the most basic etiquette, be it your personal or professional life. If someone is literally getting late by a second every alternate day, they might as well learn the first time and be in before time.

Maruti Udyog is correct on its part. There should be zero tolerance against any breach of code of conduct.

The best we can hope for now is that the quality team does their job well and do not get complacent.

there is very thin line between discipline and in discipline. You need to visit the ground zero before saying that MSIL is correct here. I found their management to be a bunch of high profile arrogant / egoistic and useless people who has no respect for those very people , on whose basis they are earning everything.