When workers call analysts to list woes

“In a shift of eight hours, we get two breaks of seven minutes each during which we have to take care of our loo and food requirements. And bus services to the Manesar factory have been withdrawn. Late comers are docked half a day’s salary. And we have to roll out a car every 44 seconds...”

In what’s a first in the history of corporate India, striking workers of Maruti, led by Sonu Gujjar, on Friday participated in a conference call with analysts from brokerages to air their woes, even as they “illegally” control the facility where production has been suspended indefinitely.

The Maruti management has refuted each of these charges and as a result, there appears no end in sight to the deadlock.

All production across Manesar and even Gurgaon remains suspended till Sunday and there is no clarity on whether work will resume even partially on Monday.

Already, dealers are reporting zero stock for many Maruti models and specific shortage of diesel cars (specially the Swift) since diesel engine supplies have also been hit severely.

Company sources justify their actions, saying they have gone by the agreement signed recently.

According to them, the seven-minute break twice a day is standard across all shop floors of Maruti in India and “adequate” for shopfloor workers; a new car rolls out every 44 seconds, not just from Manesar but also from Gurgaon and is as per standard procedure; bus services were withdrawn since worker leaders were using these buses to stoke the strike instead of arriving for work on time.

On the other issues — non-reinstatement of about 70 suspended permanent workers, non-reinstatement of 1,200 temporary workers, total breakdown of talks between the management and the workers — company sources say the agreement signed last week is between permanent workers and the management so Maruti is under no obligation to take back the temps.

Similarly, it has already clarified in the agreement that the suspended workers will have to wait for conclusion of an internal enquiry for any decision on their fate.

To the complaint that salary for 64 days has been deducted when workers earlier struck work only for 33 days, the sources say the agreement specified “no work, no pay” plus one extra day for each day that a worker struck work.

Workers have alleged that there has been no interaction with the Maruti management for the last eight days.

Maruti chairman RC Bhargava made it clear on Friday that the workers’ union at Manesar is not registered and has been told to vacate the factory premises immediately.

He also said that the company has already moved Chandigarh High Court to get back possession of the factory premises.