The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

NEWS AND VIEWS

PUNJAB

HARYANA

JAMMU & KASHMIR

HIMACHAL

REGIONAL BRIEFS

NATION

OPINIONS

LETTERS

BUSINESS

SPORTS

WORLD

SPECIAL COVERAGE

CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

DELHI

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

M A I N N E W S

Haryana declares Maruti strike illegal

Chandigarh/New Delhi, Oct 13
Taking a tough stand against the ongoing agitation at Suzuki's Indian entities, the Haryana Government today declared the strike illegal and initiated the process to cancel registrations of unions at Suzuki Powertrain and Suzuki Motorcycle.

The Labour Department declared the strike called by workers of Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), Suzuki Powertrain India Ltd (SPIL) and Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd (SMIPL) illegal. Besides, it initiated a process for the cancellation of unions of SPIL and SMIPL.

When contacted, a Labour Department official said: "The workers have not replied to the notice issued against them for violation of the 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", which 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, we will not end our strike till our union is registered again."

Suzuki Motorcycle India Employees Union (SMIEU) president Anil Kumar said the union was scheduled to meet Labour Department officials tomorrow and it would discuss the issue then. — PTI

Workers can protest but away from factory: HC
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 13
Refusing to declare illegal the strike at Maruti Suzuki India’s Manesar plant, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday issued a slew of directions to ensure smooth functioning of the facility, including adoption of measures to prevent the harassment of loyal workers.

Intervening in the ongoing strike, the high court directed the striking workers to leave the premises of the factory and not to hold any strike within the 100-metre area of the plant.

In its detailed order, the high court also directed the Gurgaon Police Commissioner to ensure that no loyal worker of the company should be targeted or troubled by the striking workers.

In fact, the Police Commissioner was directed to provide a suitable place to the striking workers from where they could lodge their protest. The high court specified that such a spot should be 100 metres beyond the factory and far away from the main roads.

The directions by Justice Surya Kant came on the petition filed by Maruti Udyog Limited.

Fixing November 29 as the next date of hearing, Justice Surya Kant also issued notice of motion to the State of Haryana, the Labour Commissioner and the Police Commissioner. They have been asked to file their reply on the issue.

In its petition, Maruti Udyog had earlier sought directions for declaring the strike illegal. Directions were also sought to prosecute the workers for defying the injunction orders passed by a Gurgaon civil court in April. The court, in its orders, had restrained the workers from going on strike.

Arguing before the high court on behalf of Maruti Udyog, counsel Pawan Mutneja argued that despite the local court’s injunction orders, workers had again gone on strike, causing huge losses to the company.