Manesar rumble could tumble mfg sector in Haryana: HMSI

In an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18, HMSI, VP-industrial relations, Harbhajan Singh, said that parent company Honda Motor Corp Japan was seriously concerned about the safety of its workforce.

"Safety is a very major issue. At all plants, the management is a minority in comparison to the number of workers. A small factory employing 200 workers is held to ransom if two workers are put under suspension. This is when the government's role becomes important."

"To date, the situation is such that members of the management feel unsafe within rather than outside the premises of the factory. So if this is the state of labour relations, I don't think that industry will continue, forget about entry of more companies and the expansion of industry," he said.

Harbhajan Singh ruled out shifting production from Manesar on safety risks. "No, this is out of question. The investment has been huge and these facilities have been hubs of expansion."

"Industrial units do not shift due to normal safety risks. But if the problem persists, it will have an adverse effect on the manufacturing sector in the region, in the long-run."