On June 11, 2011, the tool down strike by Maruti Suzuki workers which had begun on the afternoon of June 4, entered its 8th day. A correspondent of MEL spoke to a leader of the striking workers. Below are excerpts of the interview.
On June 11, 2011, the tool down strike by Maruti Suzuki workers which had begun on the afternoon of June 4, entered its 8th day. A correspondent of MEL spoke to a leader of the striking workers. Below are excerpts of the interview.
MEL: Why did you go on strike?
Maruti Suzuki leader: We workers of Maruti Suzuki are facing extremely harsh working conditions. The management is very exploitative. The existing Union has never defended the workers interests or raised voice against these conditions. It has worked hand and glove with the management. In these conditions, we workers decided to form a union that will fight for our interests.
Eleven leaders of the workers went to Chandigarh to meet the Labour Department to complete the formalities regarding registration of our union on June 3, 2011. On the morning of that day, the labour department officials faxed the news of our application to the management. Immediately, the management started pressuring workers inside the factory to prevent them from joining the new Union. They began forcing workers to sign blank papers. Senior officials of another Maruti Suzuki plant also joined in this activity.
As soon as the leadership of our union came to know of this activity, we mobilized workers against it. On the morning of June 4, 2011, through struggle, we were able to retrieve some of the blank signed papers from the management. By the afternoon, it became clear that the management was using all kind of tricks to break our unity. In such circumstances, we were forced to go on flash tool down strike from the afternoon of June 4, 2011.
MEL: What you are saying is that the management forced this strike on the workers?
Maruti Suzuki leader: Yes. If the company had recognized our union and then begun to negotiate with us on our demands, there would have been no strike. Instead the management adopted a hostile and vindictive attitude. It tried to break our unity. It then immediately suspended 11 leaders of our union. We decided to strike remaining inside the factory premises to show our unity and prevent a lockout. Over 2000 workers are inside the factory for the past 8 days. The management has organised bouncers at the gate to prevent any worker who goes out from coming back inside. Hence we decided that we will not go out of the factory. The management has cut off power and water supply and closed the canteen facilities in order to starve us into submission.
MEL: Can you describe the working conditions?
Maruti Suzuki leader: We get a lunch break of exactly 30 minutes and a tea break of 5 minutes. The canteen is 400 meters away from the workplace. In those thirty minutes, we have to remove our safety clothes and goggles, run to the canteen, stand in so many different lines to pick up food, gulp down the food, go to the toilet, run back, put the goggles and safety clothes on again, and resume work. The lines are long because all the workers have break at the same time. If we are even one minute late, Rs 1000-1500 is deducted from our salary. Imagine that in the 5 minute tea break, we are supposed to have tea and snacks and restart work. There is no break allowed for visiting the toilet at any time.
Those of us who use the company bus have to pay 600 Rs a month from Gurgaon to the factory, and 300 from Manesar to the factory. Whereas workers of Honda, Hero Honda, and other companies pay between Rs 100 and 180 per month for their company bus, which brings them from even as far as Delhi.
The salaries are abysmal compared to workers of other auto factories. Permanent workers here get between 17,500 to 19,000 a month. Compare this with workers of Honda and Hero Honda, who get between 30,000 and 40,000 a month. Our management claims that each day of strike is resulting in a loss of 40 crores. That shows you how much profit they are making from our blood and sweat each day. And they refuse to raise our wages.
Instead they have a PPRS scheme. According to this, the bulk of our salary is linked with "performance". If we take a planned holiday for any reason, Rs 1,500 is cut from our salary. If we take unplanned leave for any reason, (sickness, or family problem etc) then Rs 1,700 is cut from our salary. If there are 5 unplanned leaves, then they cut 8000-9000 per month straight away. They do this even though we are supposed to be entitled to earned leave, sick leave, casual leave, etc.
MEL: How many workers work in this plant?
Maruti Suzuki leader: There are between 1000-1200 permanent workers. In addition there are 400-500 trainee workers, 400 apprentices, and about 1000-1200 casual workers. There are more than 3000 workers overall in this factory.
The apprentices are students who are working here as part of their ITI program. They get what is prescribed by the government during the apprenticeship – Rs 3,500 to 4,000 a month . The trainees are recruited by the company and go through a three year course before they get absorbed after passing a test. The first year they are called Technical technician-1, (TT-1), the second year TT-2, and the third year TT-3. The TT-1 trainees get Rs 8000, the TT2 trainees get Rs 9,000 and the TT-3 trainees get Rs 10,000-11,000.
The casual workers are also skilled workers who have completed ITI. They get Rs 6,000-6,500 per month. Even for casual workers, Rs 1,200 is deducted from their salaries for taking off a day.
MEL: What is the mood of the workers after 8 days of strike?
Maruti Suzuki leader: Our mood is extremely militant, because we are fighting for our rights and justice. All the workers are united, as you can see. It is not easy to be inside the factory, almost like a prison for so long. But we are determined to fight till victory. We want the Union to be recognized. We want written assurance that all 11 suspended leaders are reinstated, and there will be no victimization. There must be no salary cut for the strike period. The loss of 40 crores a day is a loss caused by the management's actions, and we will not pay for it.
The management is putting pressure on us workers through the Hooda government, which last night declared the strike "illegal". We will not succumb to this pressure. The Company is under pressure from the dealers as well as the component suppliers to negotiate with us and end the strike, as they too are suffering losses. But most importantly, the support we have got from the workers of other factories of Gurgaon-Manesar belt, and from the Communist Ghadar Party of India and Mazdoor Ekta Lehar has really given us strength.
You saw how thousands of workers of over 56 factories participated in the dharna on June 9, 2011 to express their solidarity. Last evening, the Joint Action Committee of trade unions of this area, which organised that solidarity action, told us that all the unions in this belt have written to their managements that if the company does not settle with us in two day's time, they will be forced to take further actions, which could include a Manesar bandh.
MEL: Thank you for talking with us. We wish you all success in the struggle.