Labour unrest in

India in the last two

years
-facts and analysis.
Group Members
Kalpana Jadhav(22)
Nikhita Rane (32)
Saijyothi shetty(41)
Vishal Shivkar(59)
Vishwanathan Iyer (61)

What is labour unrest ?

Labour unrest is a dispute between white collar
and blue collar, where in blue collar workers
oraganize strikes to show their dissatisfaction.

There are many causes of labour unrest in India,

Low wages
Rising Price
Unsatisfactory working conditions
Demand for leave with pay
Resistance to misconduct of officers
Demand for adequate bonus
Retrenchment due to sophisticated machinery
Political causes

The first instance of such a strike took place in Bombay

known as the General Strike, in which 120,000 workers.
Statistics of Strikes and Lockouts during the years 2010 (P),
2011(P) and 2012 (P)- (January to October)
2011(January to
October)

2012(January to
October)

Strikes

166

173

Lockouts

154

21

Mandays Lost

10,099,620

2,029,439

Maruti violence:
How workers went
from celebration to
carnage in Manesar

PROBLEM FROM WORKERS VIEW POINT

Differences in salary pay

Working condition

Forced to fill an undertaking form

WORKERS DEMAND
To establish an independent union named

Maruti Suzuki Employees Union (MSEU)in

the company.
Basic sanitary enhancements demanded by
the workforce

MANAGEMENTS VIEW OF PROBLEM

Unhappy workers have found out a new way to disrupt
ongoing work at the plant by creating serious defects in
quality of the cars, so they would fail vehicle inspection
quality test.
Workers were indulging deliberate attempts to reduce
output and are compromising product quality
Revenge for the previous strike.
Refused to sign good conduct bond form which aims at
ensuring the production of good quality products.

ACTION TAKEN AGAINST EMPLOYEES

Suspension of 10 workers
Discontinued the services of six trainees.
Another four were suspended in late July for
manhandling supervisors.
Charges of sabotage-such as doors falling off
completed cars and causing quality problems in the
cars produced.
On 14th August police force of 500 sent to occupy
the factory to prevent violent activities

Consequences

 Company agreed to provide bus services in line with

shift timings.

Set up a Grievance redressal committee. The

committee will have representatives from the
management and the workers.

Formation of a labour welfare committee to

promote good relations.

WHEN DID LABOR

UNREST STARTED?
In 2009, labor unrest started in the Gurgaon plant of
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Ltd.
(HMSI), the Indian subsidiary of the Japan-based Honda
Motor Company.
The workers allegedly resorted to a job slow down and
other tactics to push for higher wages and perks

Labor Unrest at HMSI

The Gurgaon plant of HMSI had peaceful labor relations
for the first few years after it was set up in October 1999.
The management entered into labor contracts with
individual laborers
In December 2004 started demanding to increase their
wage rate.

Violation of Laws
Charged that the incident was fallout of the long-term
oppression and malpractices
They alleged that HMSI's management had violated certain
laws relating to the welfare of workers
December 2004- their was news that a shop floor worker was
kicked by a Japanese manager and few workers were also
terminated

The Cause of the Conflict

The conflict began in December 2004 after a manager allegedly hit a worker,
who was said to be engaged in organizing a union within the plant.
Another four workers were sacked after they expressed their solidarity with
their workmate. The official justification for the dismissals was
"undisciplined behavior in the factory.
The whole situation came to boiling point when the management sacked
another 57 workers and nearly all the workers in the factory reacted by going
on strike in June 2005.
At the end of June 2005 the management replied by officially sacking 1,000
workers and locking out the strikers.

About the Results of the

Strike
In total the company lost about 1.2 Billion Rupees due to the
strike.
All dismissed workers are re-hired, under the condition that they
sign a so-called good-conduct declaration promising to abstain
from further demands and strikes.
The workers are granted a wage increase for the year, although we
couldnt find any info on the exact amount.

Could this Ugly Situation

have been Averted?
Several factors can lead to a conflict between the workers and
the management of any company, and as such, companies
should be prepared to trace the root cause of the problem and
solve it
Industry experts opined that with proper understanding of the
industrial laws and causes of disputes, the management and the
workers of any company could avoid incidents such as the one
at HMSI

Summary - Honda
Honda, the worlds largest two-wheeler manufacturer, also
admitted that the strike has made some impact on production.
The recurring labor issue in the Gurgaon is severely
impacting the industrial environment in the state, and hence it
is indeed a concern for all industry. The ongoing workers
problem at some of the auto component suppliers plants has
impacted our operations.

Conclusion
Labour unrest is steadily increasing in India in
the last few decades. It has given a major jolt to
the economy. Labour unrest has become a top
priority issue to be addressed by HR head in most
of the companies.