-The Hindu
Talks brokered by Gurgaon district administration are expected to continue today
The first day of talks between the management and striking workers of Maruti Suzuki India Limited’s Manesar plant on Monday, brokered by the Gurgaon district administration, did not yield a breakthrough even as the strike entered its 11th day. The talks are expected to continue on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, thousands of workers demonstrated outside the Deputy Labour Commissioner’s office in Gurgaon in support of the striking workers. Students of Jawaharlal Nehru University under the banner of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) held a protest outside the head office of Maruti Suzuki India Limited here at Ambience Mall on Nelson Mandela Road in solidarity with the striking workers of the company’s Manesar plant and urged the company to heed the workers’ demand of an independent recognised union at the plant.
Maruti in a statement claimed that the company’s Gurgaon plant resumed operations on Monday and 1,700 vehicles were manufactured while production also “started in a limited way” at the Manesar plant. It also alleged that there was some damage to some of the equipment at the Manesar plant following a thorough check of machinery was held after workers who were on a sit-in strike vacated the plant premises.
The company said the damaged parts have been repaired. However, the workers said the allegations of sabotage were being made to damage their struggle.
The SFI students, whose university campus lies across Nelson Mandela Marg, were joined by activists of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, Janwadi Mahila Samiti and the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). SFI Delhi unit president Roshan Kishore, CITU Delhi secretary Dipankar Mukherjee, and DYFI national treasurer Pushpender Tyagi addressed the protesters.
The SFI members likened the Maruti workers’ struggle for an independent union to the three-year struggle of the JNU students to have student union elections conducted. Elections to the JNU Students’ Union have not been held since 2007.
Addressing the protesters, Mr. Kishore said the Occupy Wall Street protests that have found resonance in several global cities were was a cue to the corporate world to change their ways. The students waved placards outside the Maruti head office saying “We are the 99 per cent, you are the one per cent”, a slogan borrowed from the Wall Street protesters.