Not the best record for Maruti Suzuki India but July 2011 sees the company post

the biggest monthly sales drop since domestic operations began in 1983. Of course, Maruti Suzuki isn't the only company in the Indian car market that has suffered sales decline this past month but it's the sheer number of problems that have added to their despair. Sales figures for their super-compact Swift Dzire cars fell because Maruti Suzuki shifted production from the Manesar factory to the Gurgaon plant and this affected output temporarily. This was because of the strike at the Mrauti Manesar plant that cost the company $93 million because production of 12,600 cars was affected which mostly comprised Dzire and SX4 models. In a month on month comparison, Maruti saw a decline in small car sales. This includes the AStar, Alto and quintessential M-800. Besides, their multi utility vehicle sales too suffered. That being said, the company is also battling increased vehicle loan rates, and fuel hikes that are collectively prompting buyers to delay car purchases. The biggest sales decline that's being discussed is a 97% month on month slowdown for the current Suzuki Swift for which delivery was stopped in lieu of the fact that the new Maruti Swift will be launched mid August. However, these figures shouldn't be viewed alarmingly as Maruti already boasts of record breaking advance bookings for the new Swift. The short term implications could be serious but in the long run there are many more families that are yet to buy a car.

The 13 day strike of over 2000 workers in the Maruti Suzuki Indias (MSI) Manesar plant in Gurgoan (Haryana), close to the national capital Delhi, in the first weeks of June is an important sign of ascendancy of the working class militancy in the region. This strike comes in the wake of the victory of the Gorakhpur Yarn workers (Uttar Pradesh) and a partial victory of the Air India pilots earlier. While the result of the Maruti workers strike cannot really be termed a victory for the workers as the media, management, government and (most disgustingly by the) central trade unions proclaim, it nevertheless comes at an important juncture of high price rises and a not so bright economic outlook for the country. The strike that began on 4th June by the workers in response to the management attempts at forcing the workers into signing a blank sheet of paper vouching allegiance to the Maruti Udyog Kamgar Union (a management controlled union) as against the workers attempts to register their own union Maruti Suzuki Employees Union. The strike that went on for over 13 days was braved by the workers in spite of all the insurmountable odds placed by the management, labour department & the Haryana state government such as attacks and threats by the Maruti hired goons, closing the canteen during the strike & trying to starve the workers, sacking of 11 workers and all other management tricks into coercing the workers to end the strike.

The Haryana govt. true to its character played the role of a big bully & reiterated its total commitment to neo liberal reforms by going to the extent of banning the strike and placing the labour department completely at the disposal of the company. An even treacherous role was later played by the central trade unions in brokering a deal with the management, government and the striking workers by forcing the workers to end the strike by agreeing to reinstate the sacked workers & some sort of commitment by the management to show leniency in disciplining the striking workers! In return, the management extracted its own sweet revenge in the end by forcing the workers to drop the idea of a new union. Since when, one might ask, has the managements of multinational companies acquired such powers as disciplining striking workers or the state governments in banning strikes? While the company has violated every labour law in the country by forcing the workers to work under enormous pressures, little leisure, long working hours (9 12hrs) & low pay (Rs. 6000 to contract workers & Rs. 17,000 in case of permanent workers), no mention was ever made by any government official or central union leaders in discipling the company in the first place! While the company crossed the 1 million per annum sales mark last fiscal and an increase in profit by 19.5%, no facts or figures is needed to demonstrate that this has come from the sweat and blood fo the working class. Win-win is how Gurudas Dasgupta (AITUC leader & CPI MP) described the deal brokered by them on behalf of the workers. The statement of New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI) read : A victory for the Maruti Suzuki Workers. Having literally played no role in either trying to unionize the workers and as usual stepping in the last minute to broker a deal, what the central trade union collectively feared most was a united strike action by the workers of Gurgaon against the exploitation of the multinationals & thereby losing their control of the situation altogether. If anything, the working class of Gurgaon had no such qualms. The 13 day strike was supported by 60 unions in the automobile sector & workers from another 60 factories that have no unions, helping them by supplying food to the starving workers & one day solidarity support outside the Maruti plant. Fresh into the arena of struggle, the strike showed every signs of spreading throughout Gurgoan & beyond. The current situation at the Manesar plant is far from resolved. On 11 July, Times of India reported of workers boycotting the elections to the management controlled union and workers attempt to register their own union despite dire warnings from management not to do so. This is a far cry from the win-win formula of the central trade unions such as AITUC. Gurgoan with over 2 million workers (90% on contractual basis) employed in hundreds of units, 1 million in automobiles alone, all of which share all the unique characteristic of neo colonial countries, namely dismal working conditions, a ruthless management & low wages. While relatively new in the arena of struggles but not shackled by ghosts from the past, it nevertheless boasts impressive struggles in the last 10 years such as the 3 month long strike in 2000 at another Maruti Suzuki unit in Gurgoan (which was brutally crushed by management in cohots with the govt.), the victorious Honda workers strike in 2005 and the 50 day Rico Auto strike (2009). While Gurgaon is a fertile ground for future working class struggles in the country, the one missing element is the absence of a genuine working class organization that will guide the

workers in not only overcoming the brutal exploitation of the multinational corporations but also in paving way for a democratic socialist alternative.

Maruti Strike Ends; 64 Workers Taken Back, 30 Suspended

On Friday 21 October 2011, 12:00 AM The 14-day-long strike at Maruti Suzuki India's Manesar's plant has been called off this morning following a tripartite agreement between the management, workers and the Haryana Government. As part of the agreement, the management has agreed to take back 64 permanent workers but another 30 will remain suspended. It has also been agreed that around 1,200 casual workers would also be reinstated, sources privy to the talks said. Setting up of two committees for grievance rederssal and labour welfare was also agreed in order to provide a harmonious working environment at the plant. The agreement came at the end of several rounds of talks, since Wednesday in the presence of senior officials of the Haryana government. Before reaching the agreement, it is understood that MSI management individually considered the cases of all employees against whom disciplinary action had been taken and evaluated the severity of indiscipline in each case. Wherever the charges were not serious, the sources said, MSI management decided to take back the employees. The agreement provides that 64 employees will be taken back, they said. "However, in case of another 30 employees, the charges were found to be of serious nature. The agreement provides that these employees are suspended," a source said. As far as the casual workers are concerned, the MSI agreed to take them back to meet requirements of the ongoing expansion at the Manesar plant. Workers at the plant have been on strike since October 7 demanding replacement of about 1,200 casual workers and 44 permenant workers who have been suspended following an agreement signed on October 1 to end a 33-day-long standoff, along with 50 workers who have been dismissed or suspended during the current stir. As per the agreement, worker will face no work, no pay for the duration of the strike.

A 'Grievance Redressal Committee' will be set up and it will have representation from the management and workers. Also, a Labour Officer from the state government will be a permanent invitee to the committee and will review its proceedings, the sources said. The agreement also provides for the setting up of a 'Labour Welfare Committee' to promote measures for good relations between the management and workers. The committee will comprise members from the management as well as workers. It is understood that the company has also agreed to arrange for transport services for workers in line with shift timings. The agreement was signed in the presence of senior State government officials, including Deputy Commissioner (Gurgaon) PC Meena, Sub Divisional Magistrate Satyendra Duhan, Labour Commissioner Smt Satwanti Ahlawat and Assistant Labour Commissioner Nitin Yadav. Workers at Suzuki Powertrain India Ltd (SPIL) and Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd (SMIPL) who had also gone on strike from October 7 in support of their colleagues at Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) have also agreed to call off their strike. The company said it produced 1,997 vehicles at the Gurgaon and Manesar facilities on Thursday with the Manesar plant rolling out 200 cars with 600 workers on duty. Earlier in June, workers at Manesar plant went on a 13-day strike demanding the recognition of a new labour union - the Maruti Suzuki Employees Union (MSEU). The stir had resulted in a production loss of 12,600 cars, which were valued at about Rs 630 crore. From August 29, the company witnessed a 33-day standoff when the management prevented workers from entering the plant without signing a 'good conduct bond'. MSI board will be meeting on October 29 to consider among other things, a proposal for setting up of a new plant in Gujarat.

Officials at the Manesar plant of Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) looked relaxed, albeit tired. It was the morning of 1 October, and the agreement with the unions after a 32-day shutdown had been finally signed at 3 am after 16 hours of gruelling negotiations. The officers were keen to show near-normalcy. But things did not go strictly as per plan.

The main assembly line with Swift shells was at a standstill. News about the settlement had begun to filter in, and casual workers manning the lines were bunched in small groups, with supervisors trying to fathom the situation. The newly commissioned weld unit of Plant B was more active. To push up production at the Manesar facility, MSIL had brought forward the launch of this robotised unit by a few weeks. Even as a few young apprentices sat around, wheezing robots were quickly putting car shells together as if they were easy jigsaw puzzles.

HANDS ON DECK: The robotised unit was commissioned early as the stir hit Maruti Suzukis Manesar plant (BW Pic By Sanjay Sakaria) The agreement was signed because the workers tired of the stalemate and the company of mounting losses. But will it bring lasting peace? The workers have agreed to the core issue signing good conduct bonds. That has vindicated the managements stand that it will not brook indiscipline, company spokesman K.D. Singh told BW. In exchange, the company has diluted the action against 62 workers charged with various misconducts. Of these, 18 apprentices have been reinstated, while 15 terminated workers are now deemed to be suspended with a chance to departmental inquiries. The company has also agreed to relax the onerous terms of deduction of production incentive when workers remained absent, said deputy labour commissioner J.P. Mann, who sat in on the negotiations. He also said MSIL will set up a grievance redressal mechanism. It was not easy tracking down the young leaders of the unregistered Maruti Suzuki Employees Union (MSEU) that had led the agitation. After a two-day chase, Shiv Kumar, general secretary of MSEU, spoke to BW in a small office-cum-dormitory tucked away in the narrow lanes behind the Sitlamata Devi Mandir in Gurgaon. We are happy with the agreement. We have been able to get the workers back on the job after a long struggle, Kumar said. Though not mentioned in the agreement, the company has committed to take back all 44 of our comrades facing suspensions in two months time. On the demand for an independent union at Manesar, which had sparked the agitation, Singh was categorical that the company only recognised the Gurgaon plant-based Maruti Udyog Kamgar Union (MUKU). Multiple unions will breed competitive union politics and harm production, he says.

Build-Up To The Shutdown The 950 permanent Manesar workers were nominal members of Gurgaon-based MUKU, but discontent had been simmering since December 2010 on its failure to hold elections. But Kumar says the real issues were production pressure, and the harassment by supervisors. Mann agreed that it was friction on the shop floor with supervisors that sparked the row. Adds Kumar, When the pocket union failed to do anything, workers elected a panel of 11 to set up a new union, at a gate meeting on 3 June. The next day there was trouble on the assembly lines. Workers alleged that they were made to sign blank forms, and started a sitdown strike. Eleven workers were terminated. The strike continued till 16 June, when, after negotiations, production started and 11 workers were taken back. On 27 July, a skirmish between a supervisor and a worker again became a full-blown agitation and eight leaders were suspended.

The company admits to disparity in wages, says Rakhi Sehgal, organiser, New Trade Union Initiative (BW Pic By Sanjay Sakaria)

Meanwhile, workers anger grew to pressure cooker levels on being denied the right to form their union. The Gurgaon union held its elections on 16 July, but the Manesar workers boycotted it. Instead, they en masse resigned from the official union on 27 July and filed for registration of MSEU. But the Haryana labour department rejected the registration on various grounds, including signatures not matching. It was the move to form a new union that sparked the 29-August shutdown, claim the workers. But the company maintains that normal production had become impossible. Workers bullying had ensured that less than 400 cars were being assembled per day. There was sabotage, too, with cars being dented and hose pipes cut. The last straw was when barely 100 per day were passing the quality check, says MSILs Singh. The company decided to bite the bullet and halted production on 29 August. Workers were kept out and told to sign good conduct bonds. Expectedly, the workers refused and the factory shutdown rolled on through September. The jury is still out whether it was a lockout or a strike. Initially, the company was reluctant to negotiate. But on 16 September, workers from three independent Suzuki units Suzuki Powertrain Company, Suzuki Motorcycle and the Suzuki casting plant also struck work for two days. This paralysed the production of Fiat diesel engines and gear transmissions, and car assembly at most Suzuki facilities ground to a halt.

Talks were resumed, but almost acting on cue, the Haryana police arrested five union leaders from the negotiating table at the HUDA Club House in Gurgaon on 18 September. They were released two days later and the talks continued. But by then the state governments pressure on the union had demoralised the workers, and the company built on the advantage to push through the goodconduct bonds. Multi-pronged Challenges Of course, MSIL was under pressure too. P.K. Roy, general manager of operations, says the August-September shutdown cost the company a loss of production of 22,000 passenger vehicles worth Rs 660 crore. The earlier 16-day strike had shaved off another 12,600 worth Rs 380 crore. Given transportation and other losses, the threemonth agitation will mean a top-line loss of over Rs 1,200 crore. This, on top of the general recessionary climate (see A Sharp Fall).

India is one of the most important markets for Suzuki Motor Company. Of Suzukis global consolidated turnover of $31.3 billion in calendar 2010, MSIL revenues were $8 billion or 26 per cent. The company contributed as much as 50 per cent or $270 million to Suzukis $543 million net profit. In volume, too, MSILs 1.27 million units formed close to half of Suzukis worldwide sales of 2.6 million units in 2010.
MSIL has also lost market share in India from 55.5 per cent in 2000 to 45 per cent in FY2011, and to 40 per cent till August this fiscal of the total sales of 977,201 cars. So, MSIL was keen to end the stir before the festive season. The mid-August launch of the ramped up Swift had evoked heavy demand with bookings touching 108,000 units. Production at the Manesar plant is crucial to meet the orders. Maruti Suzuki views the upsurge as an attempt by left wing political parties to establish themselves in Haryanas industrial belt. Speaking to media persons soon after the August shutdown, company chairman R.C. Bhargava had said: There are no real issues involved, except a somewhat political issue of a political party wanting its trade union to get established.

We have got workers back on the job, says Shiv Kumar, general secretary, Maruti Suzuki Employees Union (BW Pic By Tribhuwan Sharma)

One of MSILs main objections to the Manesar union was a clause in its constitution that allowed 25 per cent of the office-bearers to be outsiders. This would let in political parties, the company felt. But even when the Manesar union expunged the clause, the companys stance did not change. Ironically, it was the intervention of central trade unions such as Hind Mazdoor Sabha that helped resolve the shutdown. So why is the demand for a second union at Manesar untenable? Amitava Ghosh, vice-president of TeamLease, says the management is not liable to recognise or negotiate with the new Manesar union when there is already an existing recognised union in the company. But Rakhi Sehgal of New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI), which supported the strike, says: The industrial

environment in the two plants (Gurgaon and Manesar) is vastly different. The company itself admits to wage disparity. The certified standing orders too are different. Adds Sudershan Rao Sarde, director of International Metalworkers Federation: Suzukis five plants in Japan have separate unions and negotiate as a confederation. Why should not the same principle be accepted here? This is not MSILs first such challenge. In 2000, it took a hard line on similar good-conduct bonds and the Gurgaon factory remained paralysed for three months. Recalls Mathew Abraham, who led the 2000 agitation: Despite three former Prime Ministers and 200 members of Parliament signing their support, and despite a resolution calling for a negotiated settlement in Parliament, the company did not relent. At the Manesar plant, after the 1 October settlement, the gates opened but none of the 1,200 contract workers were taken back. As we go to press, the workers have gone for a sit-down strike on the issue. This could prove to be a flashpoint. Is history repeating itself?