Manesar, 30 January:
Today at around 11 am Manesar police coming in large number picked up around 100 Maruti workers from their dharna site which is continuing since 18 September 2024. The tents, placards and other stuffs were demolished. Later, the workers were taken far from Manesar to Pataudi by bus and released, but were directed not to go back to Manesar. The police told them that section 144 has been imposed in Manesar via the order of Gurgaon DC. Though the workers did not get any copy of the order.
Tomorrow, the Maruti workers are to organize a peaceful mass demonstration at Manesar Tehsil under the banner of “Maruti Suzuki Asthayi Mazdoor Sangh”, where several thousands non-permanent workers, who are working or have worked in Maruti plants, are to join the program demanding permanent jobs, valid certificate of training, salary increase and equal pay for equal nature of works.
Maruti management filed a civil suit against the workers on 27 January, and the court passed an order today that the workers have rights to organize peaceful program but not within 500 meters from Maruti factory boundary walls. Maruti Suzuki Asthayi Mazdoor Sangh plans to organize the program tomorrow abiding by the court order. But the Haryana police and the administration initiated a crackdown today to prevent any peaceful gathering of workers despite the court order. The same administration through a letter communicated the workers that they could organize peaceful program at Manesar Tehsil dharna site. The Maruti workers are determined to confront the whims and crackdown of the police-administration at the behest of Maruti Suzuki company and organize peaceful program tomorrow at Manesar Tehsil dharna site.
On 5th January 2025, more than three thousand non-permanent (contract, trainee, apprentice, TW, CW, MST etc.) workers who have worked and are working in Maruti Suzuki plants in Gurgaon-Manesar had gathered for a mass meeting in Gurgaon to demand permanent jobs, equal pay and salary increase. Many workers had travelled overnight to reach the venue from Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Orissa and other states. These workers have all served in various temporary capacities at the three plants of the automobile manufacturer in Gurgaon-Manesar. The temporary workers formed Maruti Suzuki Asthayi Mazdoor Sangh, a charter of demand was prepared, adopted and signed at the meeting.
The charter prepared by the workers demanded permanent employment for all workers of Maruti engaged in a permanent nature of work. They have also demanded that the recruitment to all these posts including those in the upcoming plant in Kharkhoda, Sonipat should be held primarily from among those who have previously worked in any Maruti plant as temporary workers, and in the meantime all temporary workers must be given a 40% pay hike and a ‘clearance amount’ equal to the difference in the salaries of temporary and permanent workers for every month of service in the company. With regard to the sham training process being conducted by the company, workers demanded that the government intervene to ensure that student trainees being recruited by the company are actually allowed to up-skill themselves and not be engaged as workers in the main production process.
On January 10, thousands of current and erstwhile non-permanent workers of Maruti Suzuki gathered again at the Gurgaon DC office to submit their collective charter of demands to the Labour Department challenging the illegal labour practices of the company. The charter of demands was also submitted to the company management on January 9.
The temporary workers have received active support and assistance from the permanent workers terminated from the company in 2012. These workers have been agitating to be reinstated with back wages for their unfair dismissal and are sitting in IMT Manesar in an indefinite sit-in since 18th September last year. The terminated permanent workers from the company in 2012 have been instrumental in the building up of the present struggle of the non-permanent workers. They see the movement of the non-permanent workers as a continuation of the demands which had prompted them to begin agitating for a workers’ union in the first place in 2011-2012. A working committee of non-permanent workers from different states and representatives from among the Maruti terminated workers is leading the agitation.
As the corporates are finding new strategies to make deeper divisions among workers by creating categories of contract workers, apprentices, trainees etc. on top of caste-religion-gender based divisions, they are also increasingly reluctant to allow unionisation of contract workers. The recent mobilisation of temporary workers have unnerved the Maruti management, and they are using the police and the government to stop their protest action on 30th January. The workers are determined to carry out their demonstration peacefully and within the limit prescribed by the court.