The immediate cause for this action is the continued attacks on the workers by the management of Maruti-Suzuki and Haryana government
Workers of Maruti-Suzuki struck work insider the factor when 1600 casual workers were prevented from entering the plant by the management and goondas attacked the workers.
The immediate cause for this action is the continued attacks on the workers by the management of Maruti-Suzuki and Haryana government
Workers of Maruti-Suzuki struck work insider the factor when 1600 casual workers were prevented from entering the plant by the management and goondas attacked the workers.
According to reports, workers of several factories in the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt struck work in support of the Maruti-Suzuki workers the instant they heard of the goonda attacks on them organized by the management. Maruti Suzuki Employees Union (MSEU), Suzuki Powertrain India Employees Union (SPIEU) and Suzuki Motorcycle India Employees Union (SMIEU) are among the unions whose workers have gone on a support strike.
Workers of Maruti-Suzuki had been protesting since August 29th, 2011 against the unannounced lock out. The management was forced to negotiate an agreement after a month long defiant struggle by the workers. That the casual workers would be taken back to work was one of several conditions that the management agreed to on October 30th.
The management refused casual workers entry into the factory when casual workers arrived at the factory gates on October 7th. The management had organized a posse of goondas at the gate. The goondas warned the workers not to gather at the factory gate and to stay at a distance from it. When the leadership of the workers asked to discuss the issue of casual workers not being allowed in, with the management, they got beaten up by the goondas.
The workers of the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt are very angry with the Maruti-Suzuki management and the Congress government of Haryana which is backing it.
This is the third time the workers have had to go on strike. In June, the workers struck work inside one of the plants for 13 days till the management agreed to negotiate with them on their demands. The workers struck work on August 13th to protest the atrocities against them. Thousands of workers protested outside the plant gates for a full month. Finally, the management had to negotiate again. However, the management began harassing the workers yet again. Keeping the casual workers out is an attempt to break the workers’ union. The management is trying very hard to finish off the workers’ union and dismiss their militant leaders.
This time around, the confrontation has become very fierce as compared to the two previous occasions. Workers of Suzuki Power Train are also on strike. This has led to a halt in the entire production of vehicles at Maruti-Suzuki.
The current struggle in Manesar is significant for the country’s working class and the capitalists. The struggle is at a decisive point. On the one hand, lakhs of workers in the industrial belt are in struggle for their rights. On the other, the Central government, State government and the entire capitalist class is leaving no stone unturned to suppress the struggle.
The struggle of the Maruti-Suzuki workers is a struggle for the rights of workers across the country. The times are calling to defeat the capitalists and their governments.
The Communist Ghadar Party of India calls on all workers and their unions to recognise the importance of the struggle in Manesar and organize programmes in support of this struggle in their own areas.