[vibbs]

There was a rumour going around of maruti planning to shut down its manesar operations and move completely to Gujarat. Frequent unrests and labour trouble being the reason for this. I wonder if the rumours will again gain air with this latest happening? These incidents do run a risk of tarnishing Gurgaon Manesar belts image badly. A recent article regarding the same Labour unrest takes sheen off Gurgaon's glitzy facade : North, News - India Today . If this is to be believed, it seems professional corporate image of the millenium city is indeed taking a backseat.

OTOH I wonder how badly this latest development is going to affect Maruti's already stressed supply line.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by aseem

I dont know the details about the incident, but saying that people in Haryana are not hard workers is heavy handed and biased. Has it occured to you why MUL is constantly the only one being effected? Maybe they need to do self introspection and improve their working environment.

Please check with Honda motors, what happend to them sometime last year. And as per CII please check no of lock outs/goondagiri/shut downs of small and medium units in Haryana. Haryana is one the states with highest problems of unionism, lockouts and strikes along with Momta's Bengal. That says quite a bit.

[Meer]

This unfortunate incident may have its reasons (media reported "casteist" remarks), but we need to understand that this is a spark which lit the fire, the fuel was always there, this cannot be an isolated incident. It is very clear that the earlier strike and workers grouse were not resolved satisfactorily or completely. The biggest problem now is that we may never know the truth. The state will protect the industry management, while the unions will fight on side of the workers and in the tug of war the truth will be conveniently twisted. The MSIL management is definitely at fault as it is in their interests and control to resolve the issue quickly and in the best possible manner.

The worry is that this has come at a bad time for India Inc, when the general perception about Indian economic climate is so bad, this is only making it worse :(

[torquing_points]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Problematic states for investments are typical ones like Haryana, MP, West Bengal and Orrisa.

People of states like Haryana or Bengal look at easy ways to make money without effort. Coming to work at 10am leaving at 4pm with 3 chai breaks and need a yearly guranteed bonus and leaves on all major/minor festivals.

...

On top of this voilence at a drop of a hat is a given, especially in Haryana.

Wow. Just... wow.

We have a factory in Gurgaon. While it's not easy to run the factory (im not sure its a Haryana related issue - managing labor anywhere in this country is hard), none of our workers come in at 10 and leave at 4 with 3 chai breaks. Working in a factory is hard work. Our workers really put their back into it, especially given the extremities of NCR weather. Rain or fog or 48 degrees heat - they are there. It's really something when someone sitting in an air conditioned office in a metro makes statements about the work ethic of an entire state.

Labor problems are based on politics. Politics is everywhere. Some states seem better than others, but that doesnt mean that they are and will always be ahead. Case in point, AP was really a great place to do business some time ago. Not anymore. TN was a great place to setup an auto factory. Not anymore. Bombay used to the a great place to start a services business. Not anymore. But that doesnt mean that people in AP dont work hard, or people in TN dont work hard, or people in Bombay dont work hard.

Lets be honest - people of *Every* state, every city, every town, every country would LOVE to make money without doing anything. Even me.

Sorry if I'm taking this personally - but our factory workers dont come in at 10 and they work DAMN hard for a living. I'd even say that they work harder than the managerial staff. As long as they dont get misguided by politics - which can happen anywhere.

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Please check with Honda motors, what happend to them sometime last year. And as per CII please check no of lock outs/goondagiri/shut downs of small and medium units in Haryana. Haryana is one the states with highest problems of unionism, lockouts and strikes along with Momta's Bengal. That says quite a bit.

It would help if you would check and let us know the statistics that you are talking about, since its you who is accusing the state of being a problematic state for industry.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by torquing_points

It would help if you would check and let us know the statistics that you are talking about, since its you who is accusing the state of being a problematic state for industry.

Couple of articles you may find interesting
1) Wikipedia.org
Labour in India - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Interesting to see tabular comparision between India, US and China.

2) Labour unrest and strikes cost over Rs 500 cr in 2011 - Times Of India. Labor minister claims loss of 'only' Rs 500 crores in 2011 due to strikes all over. Maruti claims loss of Rs 1600 crores in Haryana alone.

3) http://news.webindia123.com/news/art...0/1975230.html
Haryana CM advises labor to improve productivity. Says Haryana has highest minimum pay in the country.

4) Gurgaon-Manesar belt no stranger to labour unrest - Economic Times

Article on voilence in the Gurgaon Manesar manufacturing belt. Repeat instances, whatever the cause.

5) Rico Auto tired of labor problems in Haryana Auto ancillary company wanted to move out of Haryana sick of labor issues.

6) Industrialists demand labour reforms in Haryana
In 2011 Haryana had second highest loss of man days after Tamil Nadu.


If you read through all of the above main issues seem to be the ready availability of voilence in Haryana whenever workers go on strike, whatever their grievances.

As for the gentleman who has peaceful productive workers in his factory in Haryana, touchwood I do hope your factory remains productive and peaceful. Just for my interest, are your workers unionized yet?

[DukeNukem]

As the Indian auto market reels in downturn, a shocking incident at Maruti Suzuki's turbulent Manesar plant yesterday caught the industry’s attention.

As of this morning, one person has been reported killed and about 85 others injured in violent clashes between the workers and managers at the plant. This, after an argument between a worker and a managerial staff member took an ugly turn yesterday. The plant, which produces almost 2,000 units daily, was shut down last night and it will remain closed today.


What happened?

The Maruti Suzuki Workers' Union (MSWU) and the plant managers have both come out with their versions of how yesterday's incidents unfolded. According to the Union representatives, the trouble started when a managerial staff member made “casteist” remarks against a worker who responded violently. The worker was then suspended and it irked the Union members who protested against the management.

Meanwhile, the management claims that they were not allowed to take disciplinary actions against the involved worker. The protesting workers instead turned violent, stormed the offices and held many executives and managers hostage. In a statement, Maruti accused the workers of setting ablaze five locations in the plant, which killed one person, who is still unidentified.

Deja Vu

Last year there were three separate instances of labour unrest at the Manesar plant, which accounts for more than 30 per cent of Maruti’s production capacity. The conflict began after Maruti did not recognise their independent labour union. After many negotiations, including intervention by the Haryana government, a resolution was reached and the MSWU was created.

However the company had incurred massive damages due to the unrest. In the 59 days of strike that lasted across five months, the company endured production losses of over 80,000 cars. Financial losses for FY 2011 were estimated at Rs 2,500 crore. After yesterday's events, Maruti will be hoping for a resolution soon to avoid similar losses.

The Manesar plant has a production capacity of 5, 50,000 units annually and produces Maruti’s popular Swift hatchback and Dzire models.


Related thread

MSIL factory strike: Workers deliberately sabotaging the quality of cars.

[KL01BE]

I think we should not come to conclusions as long as the facts are not out. What gave the reason for all these employees come together and resort to these kind of actions. Normally one would not want to kill some one and also block their means to live. The person who died may have accidently caught in the fire. We don’t know.

As torquing_point was saying, there should be a reason to all this. We all know the management jargon – “A happy employee is a productive employee”. If companies can keep their employees satisfied, we get good results. Problem begins when the management mindset changes from “reasonable” to “greedy” when it comes to profit.
Also, the Japanese style of working and their work culture is entirely different from ours.

In Japan, generations and generations work for the same company (or so I was told) and the relationship between employee and employer is also different.
The management shift from Indian hands to Japanese could be a reason for the current situation. This change is also evident in the way now Maruthi treats its customers (and not in a positive way).

[raju2512]

Originally Posted by Gansan

^^Can the problem be viewed merely as black and white? MSIL as angels and the workers as archetype demons? What about the in-between shades? Why does this problem refuse to go away?

+ 1

The labour cost hardly contributes to 8- 10% of the total cost. Even an increase of 20% in wages will increase the cost of production by max 2 %.

While the labour productivity in India is low compared other nations, the blame has to be shared by the management also in terms of providing infrastructure for productivity improvement. Why should a guy who earns hardly 8 - 10K suffer (with inflation at around 10%) so that a guy who can afford a 6 lac car save 10000 rupees.

We can't expect to become a developed country and continue to be a low cost manufacturing centre compromising on all fronts just to make a product cheap.

I have visited a few bottling plants of soft drink majors and the conditions are pathetic. Such a plant would have got shut down and the company penalised if run in US.

[.sushilkumar]

So it has happened again . I predicted this in some thread at the time of earlier strike as well .

Problem is that mgmt is not willing to listen / address the workers grievances & workers think that it;s them who are doing all the hard work and getting nothing in return. Another major problem is cultural difference between Japanese and indian cultures.

In Japan , Strike means over production . workers work 24x7 till their demand is not met . we all know how it works in india.

some where i see the Current situation as continuance of what happened 6 months ago when they bought out likes of Sonu gujjar and others. workers resentment has only grew over the past 6 months and casteist remarks only provided that spark to already grudged workers waiting for a opportunity.

It's wrong to blame govt in whole Fiasco . Struggle between workers & capitalists has been there since centuries. govt can only act as interlocutor. they cannot force both to reach a agreement & than vote bank politics too come into picture.

[EdgedNTaken]

The MSIL plant at Manesar has always been a problem. Others here have commented to the effect that strikes and industrial actions occur in other states too. Sure they do but no one plant is as notorious as this MSIL Manesar plant. Things keep getting worse. IMHO I do not think things will ever improve. MSIL will have no choice but to move out.
The real question is, will the Indian buyer have the balls to say No to a Swift or a Dzire, or an Ertiga, till MSIL sorts its labour issues out ? Have we reached that maturity as consumers ? I don't think so. Indians have a herd mentality and we just follow. We can't lead. MSIL knows this well. Therefore it doesn't have to worry about fixing its part of the blame. It knows fully well, the Indian consumer.

[sgiitk]

I may be sympathetic or not but am totally aghast at and condemn outright the violence and possibly murder. Why did they not strike work in a peaceful manner?

[torquing_points]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I may be sympathetic or not but am totally aghast at and condemn outright the violence and possibly murder. Why did they not strike work in a peaceful manner?

Unfortunately since the Honda incident, Gurgaon / Manesar strikes now have a tendency to suddenly flare up into violence. Moreover now that there is precedence of (unpunished / unresolved) violence, its a bigger issue.

[rohanjf]

MSIL better nip this in the bud. Otherwise the thought that violence is the one and only way to see their demands met, will grow in the labourers. Later on, there would be violence for pettiest of the issues.

[jesrani]

One of the issues is of wages. What exactly are the workers wages in MSIL? Compared to other industries around them, are the wages so low that workers resort to such tactics.
One thing I have noticed is that these large politically backed unions are always creating trouble in large industries where, I feel, the wages may be much better than smaller companies in the surroundings. There are so many industries where even minimum wages recommended by government are not being paid. But people are forced to work. However if one gets a job in a factory like MSIL where, I suppose, the pay would be much better, should one not be satisfied to some extent. Violence is not the right way to protest. There is no exploitation that workers should resort to such levels.

[kpzen]

Horrible situation in Maruti Manesar Plant.

Sparked off from an argument between an line operator and supervisor has ended up causing huge damage to staff and factory.

HR head burnt alive.
Factory Head smashed with suspension struts, now in ICU.
Quality Head smashed with chairs. Severe head injury.
Couple of Japanese staff injured badly.
All day's production burnt and damaged.
Approx 150 ~ 200 ppl injured and admitted in gurgaon/manesar hospitals.

Most of the top officials cars burnt and damaged in parking lot.