Maruti stir illegal; to cancel unions' registrations: Govt

The Haryana government has declared Maruti Suzuki Manesar plant strikes as illegal and has asked the workers to vacate premises immediately, reports CNBC-TV18's Sonia Shenoy.

Taking a tough stand against the ongoing agitation at Suzuki's Indian entities, the Haryana government also initiated a process to cancel registrations of unions at Suzuki Powertrain and Suzuki Motorcycle.
The department has declared the strike called by workers of Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), Suzuki Powertrain India (SPIL) and Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd (SMIPL) illegal, an official release said here today.
Besides, a process has been initiated for the cancellation of the unions of SPIL and SMIPL, it added.
When contacted, a Labour Department official told PTI: "The workers have not replied to the notice issued against them for the violation of settlement agreement signed on October 1 and hence a prosecution will be filed against them in the court."
Since the strike has been declared illegal, the police has been given the power to evict the workers from the factory, he added.
On October 10, the Labour department slapped a notice on workers for "breach of settlement" that was signed on October 1 to end the 33-day-long impasse and asked them to respond within the next 48 hours.
When contacted, Suzuki Powertrain India Employees Union (SPIEU) President Sube Singh Yadav said: "We have not heard about any such development. If the government has taken this step, then now we will not end our strike till our union is registered again."
Suzuki Motorcycle India Employees Union (SMIEU) President Anil Kumar said the union is scheduled to meet Labour Department officials tomorrow and it will discuss the issue then.
These decisions were taken in a meeting today that was attended by Police Commissioner S S Deswal, Labour Commissioner Satwanti Ahlawat, Deputy Commissioner P C Meena, Joint Commissioner of Police Alok Mittal, Additional Labour Commissioner Nitin Yadav and Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Maheshwar Dayal.
It was also decided in the meeting that movement of men and material in all the three plants should be free and workers sitting on strike inside the plants have been advised to vacate the premises immediately so that a conducive atmosphere of negotiations can be created.
The workers have been advised to sit outside the plant after taking due permission from the administration, the statement said.
Workers at MSI's Manesar plant went on stay-in strike on October 7 afternoon completely affecting production at the plant, demanding reinstatement of over 1,000 casual workers and 44 permanent employees, who were suspended during the standoff that started on August 29.
Simultaneously, workers at SPIL and SMIPL have gone on strike in support of their colleagues at MSI Manesar plant. (With inputs from PTI) Also watch the accompanying video for more...