147 Maruti Suzuki Workers Two Years - No Bail, No Jail

  • Abhishek Behl / FG
  • India
  • Jul 25, 2014

 

 

There is desperation among the thousands of Maruti Suzuki workers who were sacked or laid off after the July 18, 2012 violence at the Manesar factory, as the struggle to get their jobs back has turned into a futile exercise. They believe that they have little hope of getting justice from either the administration, the politicians or even the judiciary. The problem is even more acute for the 147 young men who remain incarcerated in Bhondsi Jail, having not been given bail even two years after the death of a factory manager - whose killing was not pre-meditated and was caused amid the violence that erupted in the factory premises due to the prolonged tension between the workers and the management. The Maruti Suzuki Workers Union (MSWU), which is fighting for the cause of the jailed workers as well as those whose services  were terminated in the aftermath of the Manesar violence, is despondent, as it finds itself pitted against both a resourceful auto major as well as a State government - which seems to exist only for industry. Acting in a most surprising and unusual manner, and exclusively for this case, the State has hired a top lawyer and team to fight against the workers – allegedly at a cost to the exchequer of about Rs 13 lakhs per hearing! The workers and the Union, on the other hand, are struggling to pay the fees to their lawyers and are in perpetual debt - despite their lawyers having agreed for only a nominal payment.

 

Advocate Rajender Pathak, a labour lawyer who has had many brushes with the government, alleges that in this case the entire system has been lined up against the poor workers, and that is why they have got no help, despite running from pillar to post. “The private company, the administration and the politicians want to set an example here, by getting these workers punished in a harsh manner,” says Pathak. The Japanese are the ‘privileged’ investors in this region. The sacked workers, who now prefer anonymity, allege that the administration is still totally in favour of the company. Their recent request for permission to observe the Second Anniversary of the July 18 incident was denied. Pathak alleges that as soon as a meeting with the company management on this issue ended, Section 144 was imposed in Manesar, to ensure that workers could not hold a protest or demonstration on that day. The Union then approached the District administration to hold a demonstration in Gurgaon, but even here it was not allowed to set up a stage or use a mike. Advocate Pathak says that democratic rights of the workers in the State are just being trampled, because the message from the top is that this major company/investor has to be supported, come what may.  As far as the legal status is concerned, he is hopeful that a majority of the jailed workers would be acquitted, but it is unlikely that they would get any relief from the State government on any count. As of now 48 witnesses have deposed before the Court, including 12 doctors. The legal process is likely to take one more year, says Pathak. “We are hopeful that justice will prevail,” he says. Numerous families have been ruined, as they have no source of income – the majority of the workers who are in jail are from very poor families. Out of the 147, about 100 were casual workers, with a total salary even less than the Rs 8,500 per month that was given to a permanent worker at that time. Pathak alleges that there has been excessive political pressure and interference in this case, which has led to extreme hardship for his clients. “Around 3,000 workers who were terminated unilaterally have also been facing problems, as they are not able to get jobs due to the ‘background’. Some of them are still hounded by the police. Separately, cases have been filed against 66 ‘absconders’,” alleges Pathak. He is highly critical of the way the entire State machinery has treated the workers (mostly locals) almost as pariahs, while the (mostly foreign) Company is being pampered. 

The Maruti Suzuki Workers Union meanwhile is continuing its struggle to get justice, and recently (on the Second Anniversary) held a demonstration in Gurgaon, where it demanded either a judicial inquiry or a CBI probe into the incident. However, Despondence and despair is writ large on the faces of the workers. One of them, preferring anonymity, says that they have continued their struggle, held demonstrations across Haryana, organised a march from Kaithal to Delhi to protest against the injustice, and even all their family members have come together in this struggle - but nothing has moved this government.  On the ‘First Anniversary’ last year, the workers’ procession from Gurgaon to Manesar had been curbed, as a result of which around 200 dismissed workers were forced to stage a protest in the Leisure Valley Park. To check any protest in the entire industrial area, hundreds of policemen had been posted there. In January of this year the Maruti workers organised the ‘Jan Jagran Yatra’, passing through Jhajjar, Rohtak, Jind, Karnal and Gurgaon districts of the State, before finally entering Delhi. On January 31 there was a large protest in the Capital, where members of a large number of auto trade unions, workers unions and left organisations participated. MSWU members say that even those workers who were not even present on the day of the incident have been unfairly implicated; some were summarily dismissed and some even accused of the violence! Nobody is willing to listen to ‘logic’. “India is a democratic country with socialism as it’s founding principle; despite that, the workers, who form the backbone of any industrial activity, are not only being treated badly but are being victimized,” says a worker participating in a demonstration.

Independent voices have also questioned the labour policies and practices at the Manesar plant of Maruti. The workforce at the Manesar plant was primarily casual, and local, and worked directly under the Japanese supervisors/managers, unlike the Gurgaon plant, where there is a greater presence of middle-level Indian managers. Many of the dismissed workers opine that Japanese managers are often not sensitive to the Indian work culture and try to enforce their Japanese systems. A worker alleges that rest breaks were hardly given, and once a co-worker almost wet his paints as there was no reliever on the line. Trade Union leaders allege that there is excessive pressure on the workers, who despite remaining underpaid and understaffed, are asked to double the output while the salary remains static. Pathak says that living conditions of the workers are abysmal. They live in one-room shanties and anyway have no assurance of a job, as the contractors hold sway. Workers’ unions, which can perhaps help channel the voices of the workers, find it tough to even get registered. A Japanese journalist, who has worked for months in a famous Japanese auto major’s factory, says that while the Japanese manufacturing principles of Just In Time and Kanban have been applauded across the world, they have also resulted in more injuries and job accidents…and even suicides. 

Another reason for the July 18 violence, allege workers, was the refusal of the Company to allow a (separate) Trade Union to be formed at the Manesar plant. With a majority of the workers being young, they wanted that a union that could represent them. As importantly, they felt that the Union at the Gurgaon plant, which the management was supporting, had failed to represent their cause effectively. The steadfast refusal of the management to accept the demands of the workers had resulted in the conflict being stretched for over a year; and, during this time, the labour department and the state government also played a ‘negative’ role. Pathak alleges that the government and management colluded to deny a Constitutional right (to form a Union) to workers. There were even threats, coercion and force used to deny this right, he alleges. When the impasse ended, the Company, in a surprising move, decided to terminate the leaders who had fought for the setting up a union in the Manesar plant, and allegedly paid hefty ‘compensation’ to them - in what was called a Voluntary Retirement. Trade Union leaders allege that this shortsighted policy was the leading cause for the eruption of violence on July 18, and ultimately the death of a senior manager. There was no union leadership or structure left, which could act as a safety valve and offset the steam and anger of the workers on that day. A sacked worker says that all the leaders who were trusted by the workers were removed by the Company. There was no one left whom they could trust or who could guide them. A hastily registered new Trade Union got no respect from the workers, nor did it create (or perhaps no interest in) a mechanism for a dialogue.  

Trade Union leaders allege that the State government was so insensitive and aggressive against the workers and blatantly pro the Company, as there was a clear threat that it could shift to Gujarat. It is surprising, because this very company and this very State govt. have earlier applauded the labour in this region, saying it was a major attraction for industrialists. A majority of the auto companies in this region are now facing worker sit-ins and strikes, because of low wages (compared to the rising inflation) and the lack of facilities to the working class. The ineffectiveness or ineptness of the labour dept. is not helping. This ongoing struggle at Maruti Suzuki represents an intolerance, and a growing disparity between managements and working classes, which does not augur well for an India that wants to make a turnaround in the manufacturing sector. Labour lawyer Pathak says that the verdict in the Maruti case could point the way to the future of capital-labour relationship in India.



Industry worried 

In a recent seminar organized by the NCR Chamber of Commerce and Industry, deep concern was expressed at the present scenario of labour unrest, agitations and sit-ins in the Gurgaon Manesar industrial belt, clearly showing that there is a massive deficit of trust between workers and industry owners. HP Yadav, President of the Chamber, apprehended that unless the government takes remedial measures the situation might worsen, as production is down. Yadav added that workers have started a new practice of agitating within the premises. He demanded the setting up of a ëHaryana Industrial Peace Keeping Squadí. However, Dr. Anuradha Lamba, Joint Commissioner, Labour, spoke in a more conciliatory tone and called for cordial relations between workers and management

 

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