Maruti tells Haryana it’s not shifting out of state

MSIL chairperson R C Bhargava too said on Saturday that there was “no question of moving out of Manesar”.

Meanwhile,sources said the violence could have been avoided if officials had acted upon on warning signs. The riot-like situation was attributed to:

Strong-arm tactics of management: Sources said every time workers entered into a confrontation with the supervisors and/or executives,the first reaction of the senior staff would be to resort to strong-arm tactics. On Wednesday,too,about two dozen bouncers were called to deal with the situation in the beginning. This only led to the stand-off escalating into violence.

Failure of management to read the situation,seek police help: Sources said initially a MSIL functionary did make a call to the local police to seek assistance,but there was no indication that things could flare up. As a result,the local police station deputed just a handful of constables.

Management ignored warning: Sources said some workers had warned the MSIL officers about the simmering tension.

Failure to implement last October’s agreement with union: Following three labour-related problems within a period of less than six months,particularly on the issue of having a separate labour union for the Manesar plant and wage revision,MSIL and workers inked an agreement in October. Among other things,the workers were allowed to set up their own union and MSIL promised to set up a grievance redressal cell and revise the wage structure. There was a growing feeling of discontent among workers over the delay.

Haryana’s failure to read the management-labour unrest: In the last few years,Gurgaon and Faridabad have witnessed repeated incidences of labour unrest. Despite tell-tale signs about growing unrest among workers of MSIL’s Manesar plant,there was virtually no effort by the Labour Department to intervene effectively.