Labour unrest in India in the last two years-facts and analysis.

Group MembersKalpana Jadhav(22)Nikhita Rane (32)Saijyothi shetty(41)Vishal Shivkar(59)Vishwanathan Iyer (61)

What is labour unrest ?

Labour unrest is a dispute between white collarand blue collar, where in blue collar workers oraganize strikes to show their dissatisfaction.

There are many causes of labour unrest in India, Low wages Rising Price Unsatisfactory working conditions Demand for leave with pay Resistance to misconduct of officers Demand for adequate bonus Retrenchment due to sophisticated machinery Political causes

The first instance of such a strike took place in Bombay known as the General Strike, in which 120,000 workers.

2011(January to October)

2012(January to October)

Strikes 166 173

Lockouts 154 21

Mandays Lost 10,099,620 2,029,439

Statistics of Strikes and Lockouts during the years 2010 (P), 2011(P) and 2012 (P)- (January  to October)

Maruti violence:

“How workers went from celebration to carnage in Manesar”

WORKER’S DEMAND To establish an independent union named “Maruti Suzuki Employees Union” (MSEU)in the company.

Basic sanitary enhancements demanded by the workforce

PROBLEM FROM WORKER’S VIEW POINT

Differences in salary pay

Working condition

Forced to fill an undertaking form

“ Unhappy workers have found out a new way to disrupt ongoing work at the plant by creating serious defects in quality of the cars, so they would fail vehicle inspection quality test.”

Workers were indulging deliberate attempts to reduce output and are compromising product quality

Revenge for the previous strike.

Refused to sign good conduct bond form which aims at ensuring the production of good quality products.

MANAGEMENT’S VIEW OF PROBLEM

ACTION TAKEN AGAINST EMPLOYEES

Suspension of 10 workers Discontinued the services of six trainees. Another four were suspended in late July for

manhandling supervisors. Charges of sabotage-such as doors falling off

completed cars and causing quality problems in the cars produced.

On 14th August police force of 500 sent to occupy the factory to ‘prevent violent activities’

Consequences

Company agreed to provide bus services in line with shift timings.

Set up a ‘Grievance redressal committee’. The committee will have representatives from the management and the workers.

Formation of a ‘labour welfare committee’ to promote good relations.

WHEN DID LABOR UNREST STARTED?

In 2009, labor unrest started in the Gurgaon plant of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Ltd.

(HMSI), the Indian subsidiary of the Japan-based Honda Motor Company.

The workers allegedly resorted to a job slow down and other tactics to push for higher wages and perks

Labor Unrest at HMSI

The Gurgaon plant of HMSI had peaceful labor relations for the first few years after it was set up in October 1999.

The management entered into labor contracts with individual laborers

In December 2004 –started demanding to increase their wage rate.

Violation of Laws Charged that the incident was fallout of the long-term

oppression and malpractices

They alleged that HMSI's management had violated certain laws relating to the welfare of workers

December 2004- their was news that a shop floor worker was kicked by a Japanese manager and few workers were also terminated

The Cause of the Conflict

The conflict began in December 2004 after a manager allegedly hit a worker, who was said to be engaged in organizing a union within the plant.

Another four workers were sacked after they expressed their solidarity with their workmate. The official justification for the dismissals was "undisciplined behavior in the factory”.

The whole situation came to boiling point when the management sacked another 57 workers and nearly all the workers in the factory reacted by going on strike in June 2005.

At the end of June 2005 the management replied by officially sacking 1,000 workers and locking out the strikers.

About the Results of the Strike

In total the company lost about 1.2 Billion Rupees due to the strike.

All dismissed workers are re-hired, under the condition that they sign a so-called ‘good-conduct’ declaration promising to abstain from further demands and strikes.

The workers are granted a wage increase for the year, although we couldn’t find any info on the exact amount.

Could this Ugly Situation have been Averted?

Several factors can lead to a conflict between the workers and the management of any company, and as such, companies should be prepared to trace the root cause of the problem and solve it

Industry experts opined that with proper understanding of the industrial laws and causes of disputes, the management and the workers of any company could avoid incidents such as the one at HMSI

Summary - Honda

Honda, the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, also admitted that the strike has made some impact on production.

“The recurring labor issue in the Gurgaon is severely impacting the industrial environment in the state, and hence it is indeed a concern for all industry. The ongoing workers’ problem at some of the auto component suppliers’ plants has impacted our operations.”

Conclusion

Labour unrest is steadily increasing in India in the last few decades. It has given a major jolt tothe economy. Labour unrest has become a toppriority issue to be addressed by HR head in mostof the companies.