Defying the “solution” agreed by the capitalist backed Haryana government, company’s management, along with the revisionist opportunist trade union combine of HMS-AITUC-CITU. The 3,500 workers of Maruti Suzuki on Oct.7, again went on a flash strike, against betrayal and excesses of management.
The action of the belligerent workers at Manesar has sparked a wave of working class action with almost 8,000 workers at a dozen or more auto industry-related plants in the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt, staging a walk out in display of class solidarity. Today it is the workers of auto plant tomorrow it will be the entire working class of the country, who would raise their fist and down their tool in show of solidarity.
The worker’s have now taken control of the Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant, where only a few days back the management had proudly said that they would not tolerate any indiscipline. The management had to concede that “The plant is effectively captive in the hands of striking workers who are bent upon violence“.
The production has been completely shut down but the management is still stubborn in not accepting the genuine and legitimate demand of the workers. The workers are only demanding that the management take their fired colleagues back.
It may be noted that around 65 per cent of the workforce at Manesar plant is on casual or contract basis. These workers designated as trainees, contract workers and apprentices do the job of regular workers which is a brazen violation of factory and labour law. The only motive being to generate more profit, as the salary paid to these workers are meagre, compared to that paid to the regular workers.
Till date the management of the company stood stubbornly in not yielding to any of the worker’s demand of rehiring the fired workers and let them form their own union and till the end demanding from workers to sign a “good conduct bond”. Aided and abetted by the Government and the Labour department, there was no reason why the company would have entered into negotiation with the struggling workers who had none to backup and support.
The management has been terming the workers action as an act of violence and law and order problem. The company said the latest round of labour unrest at the plant is degenerating into a law and order problem, with workers indulging in several random acts of violence and damage to property inside the factory premises on Saturday.
“The agitating workers attacked co-workers, supervisors and executives in multiple incidents of violence, and damaged factory property since they began the stay-in strike on Friday evening,(7th October)” according to the official statement issued by the company. The statement said that on Saturday(8th October), the company was able to rescue 355 contractual workers. “They were badly beaten up by the striking workers. They were forced to join the stay-in by the striking workers. These contractual workers were rescued by police. They were provided medical assistance, and later left the factory premises,”.
So the management has resorted to clichéd gimmick — if every strategy fails term it as law and order issue. Have not the bourgeoisie resorted to similar deceit since ages, when they termed every working class action as subversive and illegal!
It is to be noted that after the so called October 1st agreement, that the workers were coerced to accept by the opportunist-revisionist HMS-CITU-AITUC trade union combine, the management again resorted to harass the permanent workers too. The workers are being harassed and threatened that strict action would be initiated against any worker who ‘goes slow’ or hampers production, and he can be terminated without notice. As per a report the company has discontinued the bus service for the workers from October 3rd, thus causing further inconvenience to them. It is worth noting that as per the laws promulgated by the company (which sometimes even is in direct contravention to the Indian labour laws) Rs 1500 can be deducted from the wage if someone is late by only a few minutes.
The corporate controlled media is being fed by the management with all sorts of anti workers news. The reportage in the media has attempted to portray the incident as a case of ‘rise in militant trade unionism and anti development agenda of Left.’ One eminent national newspaper sympathesied with that capitalists stating “Manufacturers are working on really thin margins,” “Instead of going on strikes, which aren’t beneficial for anyone, workers should rather be part of the growth process, which would be mean higher benefits for them in the long run.”
The event of the last few days indicates that the workers have to be prepared for a long drawn battle ahead. The way this flash strike has got support from other workers suggests that if this strike is able to garner support from broader section of working class then this incident has all potential of galvanising the working class and developing into a broad workers struggle.
Workers' Unity Trade Union 