[wildon]

Via: Indian Express

Employees demand hike in salary; say management has been taking them for a ride

Demanding hike in wages, nearly 800 workers at the Halol unit of General Motors India went on a strike on Friday morning, forcing the company to stop production. This comes close on the heels of the announcement made about expansion of the plant by GM India president and Managing Director Karl Slym. Negotiations between the company and union leaders to end the strike was on till late in the evening.

GM-India Vice-President P Balendran said, “Workers of the first shift have stopped working since this morning... Discussion with them is going on and we are expecting a solution very soon.” He said the second shift of the plant, which was scheduled to start at 4 pm, did not start.

The strike has raised questions about the company’s plan to start production in three shifts from existing two shifts. “The company has been giving us assurances about hike in salary for the last one year. But we have realised that we are being taken for a ride by the management. When it comes to publicity, they call themselves a multinational company but our salaries are less than half of what other automobile companies are paying to their employees. We are protesting in a systematic manner,” said a protesting worker.


The Halol facility has an installed capacity to produce 85,000 units every year in three shifts. But at present, the company operates in only two shifts. The plant produces 150 vehicles every day with 900 permanent workers. Besides, it employs nearly 100 contract-based staff, who are not participating in the strike, Balendran said.

The company manufactures premium hatchback Aveo U-Va, entry-level sedan Aveo, mid-sized sedan Optra, sedan Cruze and multi-utility vehicle Tavera at Halol.

[aargee]

Anyone knows what's GM's strategy on hiring people? Hyundai has adopted some good measures. Though they've union, they're totally in the weak link section & it will take ages for them to start "s" of strike. Anyway, I'm neutral towards this as I don't know whether these guys deserve a raise or the management is right.

On a lighter note, when the Govt bus drivers in TN are eligible for 20% bonus for all the nuisance they cause everyday apart from their contribution to accidents, these guys at GM plant deserve a little.

[drive_or_die]

It's High Time for GM India to resolve the issue. The company would definitely not want to dampen the sale of Cruze/Spark due to delayed deliveries.

I always thought that they are worst at their marketing strategies while having some wonderful products (pls read Optra Mangum), now please do not screw up with labour relations too!

Hope GM India & Labour Union resolve it soon !

By the way, it will be interesting to see what the Chevrolet Dealerships have to say about delayed deliveries (if strike continues long). I had my share during regular days itself

[Warhound]

Anyone know what the salary for a union worker under GM is before we start speculating as to who is at fault .

[xingamazon]

Well I have seen this to be common in all the Auto / two wheeler companies.

The moment there is a product performing well, and is in good demand, then the union gets into strike to cripple the management. Nothing wrong in striking, just that the unions in India and the factory management need to get some more maturity on how to strike not affecting the productivity etc.

@aargee, regarding your comment, the HMIL makes use of Tamil Nadu govt whenever there is a strike, and the govt does the negotiation initially thro appelette tribunal.

[Mpower]

As it is, the Aveo and Optra are duds in the market. This is just adding insult to injury.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by xingamazon

@aargee, regarding your comment, the HMIL makes use of Tamil Nadu govt whenever there is a strike, and the govt does the negotiation initially thro appelette tribunal.

Oh!!! is it? 2 years ago I used to see a labour union's strike at Kattupakkam, but they eventually disappeared in few months. I always knew there's a good relation between HMIL & TN Govt compared to any other car manufacturers. No wonder HMIL is rocking without strikes.

IMO, there're very few companies that do not care about their employees. In the recent times, I've been observing that most employees are not satisfied no matter what is done.

Did the same employees or union in GM come forward for a salary cut during 2008/09?

[GTO]

Bad timing for GM, considering its all new engine plant in Maharashtra is being inaugurated in mid November! I'm curious to know what the Chinese ownership think of this situation, and what solutions they put across to other board members.

Either ways, part & parcel of doing business in India. I'm sure they'll resolve it soon.

[drive_or_die]

The strike at Halol plant of GM India continues as per the latest news available online. The discussion between management & labour union is underway.

I pity the customers who would not able to take delivery of their cars during festival season

I read an article by Karl Slym (MD, GM India) in Economic Times on Oct 30, 2010 titled "In India, a lot can happen in 24 hours"

Come on Karl, it's now 4 times of 24 hours but nothing much has happened at your factory. Resolve the issue for sake of customers

[drive_or_die]

Mods- I feel we should close this thread as the Strike at Halol plant of GM India is over sometime back. The thread seem to have served it's purpose and has been inactive for a week now.

Thanks,
Sorabh

[fz_rider]

It has been reported that production remains hit at the General Motors' (GM) Halol plant as the workers' strike has entered its sixth day. According to media reports, the factory is yet to resume normal operations and according to Business standard report, a couple of hundred workers staged a dharna outside the factory gates on Sunday demanding a cut in workload, cancellation of transfer orders among other issues. It can be recalled that nearly 900 workers at the plant had gone on an indefinite strike from second shift on Wednesday, March 16, while around 350 workers joined work on Friday, March 18. Till Friday the strike had resulted in a loss of production of 350 cars, after which production started crawling back to normalcy. The report mentioned that a worker at the plant informed that they have reported to work in 'general shift' today and that the plant is manufacturing Taveras now. While there is no official confirmation on the production numbers, the Halol plant is yet to resume normal operations and production continues to remain hit. The plant can produce 190 cars per day in two shifts.
According to the report, the state labour department has prohibited the strike, informed a government official, and it is in talks with the INTUC backed labour union that has gone on strike and the company to reach an amicable solution to the impasse. The report mentioned that the official, however, admitted that this time around the issue might take longer to resolve. Earlier in October, when the workers had gone on strike demanding higher wages, the labour department had managed to reach a solution more readily and the strike had ended in sharp three days time. The report quoted Nihil Mehta, INTUC Gujarat president as saying "We have already filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) which has, in turn, directed the District Magistrate of Panchmahal district to submit a report within seven days. Also, we have filed a petition with the Gujarat High Court reporting about unfair labour practices. Workers are not only made to work 30 minutes extra per shift every day, but are also denied legitimate allowances and overtime wages. On top of this, the company is also ignoring the potential health hazards related to back pain and spinal cord injuries resulting out of long working hours."

Source :wheelsunplugged.com

[volkman10]

"General Motors, has deferred its plans to commence the third shift production at the plant located here in Gujarat due to the dull the market conditions in the country"

http://news.indiamart.com/story/gene...nt-144218.html

Cheers!

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by volkman10

due to the dull the market conditions in the country"

Dull market conditions in India?! People are buying cars left, right and centre.

Is the Beat/will the Beat Diesel roll out of this plant itself? If yes, then they should expect surge in demand, right?

Strange the management says this.

[Latheesh]

May be 2 shifts are enough to cater the current demand for their cars. They are talking about third shift isn't it?

What they need to do is to plonk their 3 pot diesel in to Spark and replace Aveo with new car (with diesel heart). Then they can think about running third shift.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Dull market conditions in India?! People are buying cars left, right and centre.

Guess this could be the reason.

"The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the auto industry body representing 46 leading vehicle and vehicular engine manufacturers in India, forecast that Indian car sales, which grew at about 30 percent in the fiscal year up through April 2011, are now expected to grow by just 10-12 percent in 2012."

SIAM’s Lowered Auto Sales Forecast For India Worries Steelmakers

Cheers!