New Delhi, June 4:
Bajaj Auto's two-wheeler plant in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, was hit by a
workers' strike on Monday, bringing production down by over 50 per cent
for the day. The bone of contention was a dispute that began a few days
back over wage increases for the year, according to sources close to the
development.
Five workers had been initially asked to leave by the management,
leading to a ‘tool-down' protest by the rest of the workers since
morning, sources added. However, these workers were re-instated around 2
p.m..
While almost no work reportedly happened in the first shift (ending 4
p.m.), workers also resorted to a slowdown for the second shift.
Hike promised
“Workers had asked for a pay increase of Rs 8,000 a month, but the
company only agreed to a Rs 1,500 hike. They were complaining because,
last year, when they were given a Rs 2,000 increase, they were promised a
hike of at least Rs 5,000 this year,” the source said.
He added, “Two days back there was a discussion with the company. But
this morning, they called in the police fearing a strike after asking
the five workers to go.”
A Bajaj Auto official, however, denied the reports. “We had some issues
with minor disturbance to production for about a day. This has been
sorted out. Normal production has been resumed,” he replied to e-mailed
questions.
The Pantnagar plant reportedly employs around 1,200 workers and makes
about 4,000 units a day of around six variants of the Discover and
Platina motor bikes.
Bajaj Auto has two more plants — at Chakan (near Pune) and Waluj,
Aurangabad. The company is increasing production of its two- and
three-wheelers by 26 per cent to 6.3 million units by next year, reports
said.
Precedents in Sector
Most recently, component suppliers to Hero MotoCorp's plant at nearby Haridwar faced a similar situation.
In early April, about 1,200 employees of Rockman Industries and Satyam Auto went on strike demanding higher wages.
In the auto sector, the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt has seen several
such instances of worker agitations — the most recent being at Maruti
Suzuki's Manesar plant.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/article3490711.ece?homepage=true&ref=wl_home
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