Employees of auto parts firm strike seeking pay hike

Employees of an auto parts company based in Manesar in Haryana protested against the firm’s alleged failure to revise their wages and keep other promises, pending for over two years. The protesters staged a demonstration outside the premises of the firm and said they would not leave the place till their demands are met.

The Gurugram police deployed around 500 personnel in Manesar on Tuesday, following the protest.

The employees of Satyam Auto Parts Component Limited said the wage revision has been pending since March 2019, and despite repeated promises and meetings, the company management has failed to keep its words.

The employees, who had been boycotting lunch in the company premises since February 22 went on strike on March 1 after the company management forcibly asked them to partake the lunch, said Ravi Kumar, an employee of the company and leader of the labour union.

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, the management asked the employees to co-operate and increase the production and we did. We also accepted wage cuts, however, despite the improving situation, the manager has refused to revise the wage. We were forced to resume the strike as our demands were not met,” said Kumar.

A spokesperson for Satyam Auto said, “We are making efforts to resolve this issue in next couple of days.”

Jaspal Rana, a trade union leader, said workers have been demanding wage revision for the last two years but there has been no response from the management and only vague assurances.

The Gurugram labour department said efforts are being made to resolve the differences between the workers and the management over various issues.

“A number of meetings have been held with both the sides and our efforts are to ensure that a fair deal can be struck for the benefit of all. The negotiations are on and both the sides will be asked to be flexible so that they could resolve the matter. Adequate measures have been taken to ensure there is no untoward incident and we are certain that this matter will be resolved soon,” said Manish Sharma, additional labour commissioner, NCR.

Hitesh Yadav, assistant commissioner of police, said two police units were deployed on Monday. “We deployed police teams to ensure peace in the area. This is a sensitive issue, and at times it may take an ugly turn. Te situation is under control, but until the issue is resolved police teams will remain deployed here’s,” he said.