Maruti Workers Are The Criminals Case Study

‘MARUTI WORKERS ARE THE VILLAINS’:TRUTH OR PREJUDICE ? - Apurva Kadian

My response is premised on the reflections set out in the commentary entitled “Maruti Workers are the Villains’: Truth or Prejudice?” authored by Rakhi Sehgal.

The author begins by briefly portraying the catastrophic event of 18 July in one of the conglomerates of the Indian automobile industry, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. which was a blot on the history of the company that ended with a halt in the production process of the industrial unit in addition to the murder of a company manager. She showcases as to what started out as a seemingly minus scuffle over a suspended worker took a political

For example, she notes that the workers were frustrated by the management’s disrespect towards their elected union when they sacrificed so much and adhered to all the preconditions laid down by the management. This argument, if looked at very fundamentally seems to be very true by paying attention to statement passed by the Managing Executive Officer which reiterated that “the formation or any external affiliation of the union will not be permitted”. My assessment of the aforementioned issue portrays how the rights of the workers as enshrined in the Constitution of India i.e. freedom to associate and to form trade unions (Article 19(1)(c) ) is flouted as even the state authorities and the police supported the management of MSIL. The very fact that the Maruti workers took quite some time to register a union that too after facing punitive actions by the management and the government is ironic in the sense that their right to organize and collective bargaining is not honored by the authorities, who are supposed to be the watchdog of the spirit of legislation in India for instance the Trade Union Act of

The question posed by the author as to why have the managements and the experts not been able to evolve an appropriate and democratic industrial relations framework that can address the concerns of the workers sheds light on the need to collectively reflect on an effective strategy that would help cope with such problems if they arise in future in other production and manufacturing units. Recent incidents like the violence that took place in Manesar (Gurgaon) suggest a need for urgent reform of Indian labour laws which on the face of it are old-fashioned in nature that point towards the rigid rules on hiring and firing workers which inturn affects the formal sector. This if not tackled in a serious manner will have far- reaching consequences and would discourage investment in India. Thus, I contend that in order to find effective solutions to the issues being dealt with above there is a need to call for reforms in Labour Law for the benefit of both the employers and the employees. There is an urgent need to develop a fruitful mechanism so that labour disputes come to an end by balancing the conflicting considerations in the current scenario. Since the dissimilarity in wages paid to the temporary and permanent workforce creates a sense of resentment towards the management of the establishment concerned, wages should be revised in the sense there is no disparity