Strikes return to dog India Inc

The most important factor leading to industrial strikes in India is hiring of contract labour as against permanent labour. Contract workers are indirect workers hired by a company for a specific work for a given duration.

They are paid wages by the labour contractor. Another factor favouring hiring of contract labour is a provision in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

It says a firm which employs over 100 workers cannot retrench a permanent worker without government permission. Hence downsizing the workforce in tight monetary conditions is most convenient option by following this practice.

The 13-day strike at Maruti's Manesar plant came to an end this year after the management agreed to take back the sacked employees.

The company lost around Rs 420 crore and 12600 units of production. Eleven employees were sacked in a disciplinary action on June 6 for inciting others to go on strike.

The core demand of the striking employees - a second union for the Manesar plant - has not been accepted. Workers went on a strike on June 4.

Currently, the company has one recognised union -- Maruti Udyog Kamgar Union which is dominated by workers at the Gurgaon plant.

On June 6, the management had sacked 11 striking employees of the Manesar plant. The Haryana Labour Commissioner had also termed the strike as "unwarranted" and supported the management's decision to sack the employees.

The Manesar plant rolls out about 1,200 units every day in two shifts. The factory produces hatchbacks Swift and A-Star and sedans DZiRE and SX4.

In September 2000, employees of Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) went on an indefinite strike, demanding revision of the incentive scheme offered and implementation of a pension scheme.

Employees struck work for six hours in October 2000, irked over the suspension of nine employees, going on a six-hour tools-down strike at its Gurgaon plant, demanding revision of the incentive-linked pay and threatened to fast until death if the suspended employees were not reinstated.

On March 16 this year, around 200 workers had resorted to strike at the General Motor's Halol facility in Gujarat, which has an installed capacity of 85,000 units a year.

They were protesting the transfer of some employees to dealership outlets and opposing a long-term wage settlement agreement signed in December last year. The plant lost 1,500 units due to the strike.

Counted as among the biggest strikes in India, workers at Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt Ltd (HMSI) at its Gurgaon facility stopped work in July 2005. The strike continued for 32 days.

On July 25, workers were brutually beaten by the police while they were taking out a rally. Hundreds of workers were injured.

In October 2009, a month long labour strike in Gurgaon-based Rico Auto involved around one lakh workers protesting and staying away from work in 60-odd companies in the automobile hub of India.

The strike was called by the All India Trade Union Congress to protest alleged police inaction in a labour unrest which left one worker dead and six people injured.

Workers from scooter major Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, bike maker Hero Honda's Gurgaon plant and atleast five component makers also supported the strike.

In May 2010, 1,500 motormen of the western and central railway in Mumbai went on strike. The strike affected over 65 lakh people and brought the city to a standstill.

It lasted for around two days, still its reverberations were felt in the national capital and Parliament.

At least 170 of the striking motormen were taken into custody at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) on charges of unlawful assembly and obstructing railway employees from reporting for work.

The 10-day pilots' strike at Air India led to a loss of Rs 200 crore in ticket sales in May this year.

Around 880 pilots were demanding pay parity with their counterparts from Air India flying bigger planes on long-haul international routes. Around 1,385 flights were cancelled causing inconvenience to hundreds of passengers.