re: Bajaj Auto workers strike at Chakan plant: xBhp News

Kejriwal’s party backs strike at Bajaj Auto’s Chakan plant

New Delhi, July 8:
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has extended its support to the about 1,400-contract workers of Bajaj Auto Chakan-Pune unit, who have been on strike for the past 13 days.
A press release issued by the Arvind Kejriwal-led fledgling AAP said Bajaj Auto was associated with the legendary industrialist, Jamnalal Bajaj, who advocated the Gandhian idea of trusteeship. “It is disappointing that the reasonable demands of the workers are not being responded to in this unit, especially since the company has done very well, but the employees share in value addition has gone down drastically from 31 per cent to 12 per cent.”
The AAP, which is foraying into the electoral battle, gave out data claiming that for unit of Pulsar (motorbike) that sells in the market for 70,000, the shareholders and management staff get around Rs 16,700, the Governments get around Rs 10,000, the dealers get around Rs 10,000, while the 1,450 workers get around Rs 300.
Calling upon the Government to intervene to defend the legal rights of workers, the AAP also urged the Bajaj Auto management to respond to demands such as equal wages for equal work, review of agreement between Vishwa Kalyan Kamgar Sanghatana (authorised union) and the management, as per clauses in the previous agreement, removal of suspension orders and false police cases against workers among others.

re: Bajaj Auto workers strike at Chakan plant: xBhp News

This is what I wrote to AAP just few minutes back


"Hi There,
This is regarding Mr. Kejriwal supporting the strike at Bajaj's Chakan plant. Hugely disappointing!! What's the difference between you & other political parties now?? These labor unions are nothing but extension of Cong, BJP, Shiv Sena etc. I wonder is it the same Kejriwal whom I supported during Annaji's stir against the Govt.?? Is it the same Kejriwal whom I supported during Electricity Bill payment boycott? I sincerely thought AAP to be an alternative to Cong/BJP but it seems like you are not different from other Political Party!! You just jumped into this controversy hoping to gain votebank, isn’t it?? Well, you just lost few supporters including me.
Regards
Dipankar"

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re: Bajaj Auto workers strike at Chakan plant: xBhp News

A political turn to this now...sigh..

re: Bajaj Auto workers strike at Chakan plant: xBhp News

guys there is much more to it than meets the eye and notice nowhere in his statement kejriwal talked about those shares.

re: Bajaj Auto workers strike at Chakan plant: xBhp News

Have no doubt, the company will not transfer even one share to any worker based on this demand. They might hike their wages and do other stuff but people demanding stock for free, that's just a joke no company will entertain. If they persist with this foolishness they will not only lose their job but also kill thousands of jobs in dependent industries in that region.

re: Bajaj Auto workers strike at Chakan plant: xBhp News

In case anyone was wondering, looking at current share prices, yielding to the *Reasonable Demands* of the workers will mean that the company will have to part away with equity worth roughly Rs. 185 Crore in return of Rs.10 lac from the workers.

Anyways, Now I feel this was a reasonable enough deal considering the fact that they have already lost roughly Rs.41 Crore in the 13 day strike till date due to lower production. The only problem for this being that if one company yields to illegal demands of the workers, it would set a precedent for the other labour unions all over the country to follow effectively jeopardizing the survival of whatever little manufacturing capability this country has developed over the years. Such strikes is the reason why I didn't feel bad when a certain Mr. Vadra mentioned something about Mango people and Banana republics. Harsh it may have sounded but it was the bitter truth.

re: Bajaj Auto workers strike at Chakan plant: xBhp News

^^ parting with 185 crores in return for 10 lakhs is not justifiable, and nobody is justifying it, but aften there are a lot of things not reported in media, sometimes actual issue itself remains hidden. so chill, let BAL and labour union decide through whatever way they can.

re: Bajaj Auto workers strike at Chakan plant: xBhp News

Very true.

But neither are the labour unions voicing their concern towards the 'actual issue'. If they themselves don't speak up, no one will know. Even in court. That is why the strike has been deemed illegal by the court.

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The delaying tactic continues -

re: Bajaj Auto workers strike at Chakan plant: xBhp News

i have one more fear...what happens if workers resume duty half heartedly, will there be a compromise on the quality of goods produced.

re: Bajaj Auto workers strike at Chakan plant: xBhp News

Bajaj says will meet 95% Chakan output by Saturday

Tuesday, Jul 9, 2013, 7:00 IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

In a statement, the country's second-largest bike maker said around 600 workers reported to work on Monday.

The divide between the Bajaj Auto management and the striking workers at its Chakan plant continues to widen.
About 925 workers continued with their strike which entered 14th day on Monday even as the company said it expected to meet 95% of its requirement of all its vehicles (produced at Chakan plant) by end of this week.
In a statement, the country’s second-largest bike maker said around 600 workers reported to work on Monday.
“Today we will be producing more than 1,600 vehicles at Chakan and 800 Pulsars in Waluj,” it said.
“Around 95% of our requirement of all brands of the Pulsar, Avenger, KTM will be achieved by this Saturday (July 13),” the company said.
Bajaj Auto said it is increasing its output at the Chakan plant, which makes the premium Pulsar, KTM and Avenger bikes.
Also, the company has shifted some of its production to its Waluj plant near Aurangabad.
Bajaj Auto lost production of 20,000 vehicles last month since the strike began on June 25.
Meantime, Vishwa Kalyan Kamagar Sanghatana, the workers’ union at the Chakan plant, said 925 workers continued the stoppage of work.
“The company has been hiring new trainees since June 25, when the strike began. Also, workers from other plants have been asked to work at the Chakan plant and that is how the output was raised by Bajaj Auto,” according to a union member.
A decision on mass stoppage of work, which will involve workers from other plants in the Pune-Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial belt, will be taken soon, he said.

re: Bajaj Auto workers strike at Chakan plant: xBhp News

I hope that there is no hand of competing auto companies in this strike, nothing can be relied upon in our country.

It sure looks like an illegal strike because they are demanding a hike and other things without even saying what is that they are getting paid now. Having contract workers as part of strike is an age old arm twisting tactic.

re: Bajaj Auto workers strike at Chakan plant: xBhp News

well..looks like Bajaj wont go down without a fight...

re: Bajaj Auto workers strike at Chakan plant: xBhp News

The labour laws in this country are a throw-back to the "glorious" socialist "dream" of Nehru. There are some 104 labour laws, many of which contradict one another. I remember that in 2010, while I was reading for an MBA, our law faculty had given a lecture on this, adding that the ILO had itself, in 2004, commented very adversely on Indian labour laws. Some contents of that ILO chastisement come back to me now. " Indian laws are opaque and dense. They actively obstruct free movement of labour within the country. Most of these laws have no place in a developing country which desires to attract capital investment from overseas. Although designed to protect the interests of labour, the active intervention of political interests results in the laws benefiting cartels. This is at the direct expense of labour and management. These laws have taken the concept of the welfare state to an absurd, economically unsustainable level. If India does not carry out a radical overhaul of its labour laws, it will find itself left behind in the BRICS association but also behind other ASEAN nations too." Or words to that effect.

The concept of collective bargaining, which finds its implementation in unions, is not to benefit one party at the loss of the other. Rather, it is to benefit the enterprise. Management ensures creation of a conducive environment in terms of remuneration, safety, comfort and progress for the creation of wealth while labour ensures that the creation of the instruments of such wealth, namely, product (physical, intellectual, experience ) adheres to established benchmarks of quality, quantity and cost, thereby achieving the aim of a company - to maximise shareholder value. It is a HANDSHAKE between two equal PARTNERS in a going concern, not a crossing of SWORDS between two ADVERSARIES in a bleeding battle.

In the instant case, it is the latter and incorrect situation that is prevailing to the utter detriment of the former.

As armchair pundits, we cannot pontificate on the case but can definitely ponder over queries for both parties.

As a completely impartial but interested spectator and shareholder of the company, I would like to ask the two parties the following:

1. What are the details of the agreement struck with the workers which was to last till 2019 with specific references to:

(a) Wage increases YOY. Whether linked to productivity or inflation or the WPI. Equation/formula/empirics used for wage increases.

(b) ESOPs and their minute details. Any deal to offer discounted/preferential stock to employees and if so, the details.

(c) Details of the publicised offer made to the employees about a relook at the agreement.

(d) Details of safety and health audits conducted over the past three years with special attention to shopfloor conditions and worker family welfare.

Surprisingly, either party has articulated the above issues in any public forum. The management must have given all details to the labour court so the matter is now sub-judice and beyond the pale of either of them.

Also, I remember (correct me if I am wrong) having read in some of my labour law books that a sudden, unilateral revoking of terms and conditions and a flash strike is now considered illegal. A similar state obtains for the management too if it declares a lock-out without due diligence.

It was inevitable that politicians being the scum of the earth would jump hungrily into the cesspool so that they can foment more trouble, fan the flames and incite sentiment for their own narrow vested interests.

The equation put forth by Mr Kejriwal is as ingenious as it is insipid. Perhaps, Mr Bill Gates can give an insight if this same formula was applied to his firm's most successful product - Win 7 - and arrive at the share of a Microsoft employee, a simple coder, in B'lore!

Other nations have also faced such union activity. And in cases where there was a horizontal and vertical fallout, the backs of the unions were broken, leaders were arrested and jailed for long terms, workers smelled the real java and the very industrial landscape underwent a paradigm change. There is a fair outlook of this happening now.

I would not at all be surprised that within the next two or three days, Bajaj gives out a notice for an EGBM.

re: Bajaj Auto workers strike at Chakan plant: xBhp News

woohhhh....icemang...didn't understand a thing u said man... As per Bajaj both parties had a contract all the way till 2019, both agreeing for a set percentage of hike so that even if the market fluctuates employees still get that particular hike. Apparently the union terminated that contract themselves recently.(Don't know how) As per Bajaj trouble started when they fired few of the employees for behavior and work related issues last year. This is the end result. I know it's a one sided story...but I listen to only what I want to hear.

re: Bajaj Auto workers strike at Chakan plant: xBhp News

Well, here you have missed something. If bajaj distributed shares like that at chakan, why wouldn't tens of thousands of workers from other bajaj factories feel unfair about it?
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How to look at this strike, a psycho called Dilip Pawar fighting Bajaj for his personal ego at the cost of workers' job.
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@icemang: couldn't understand you.