BY TIM GOODEN
& SUE BULL
DELHI — Workers are locked out of a car manufacturing plant, scabs are brought in and workers are told to sign individual contracts before they can return to work. The new contracts require workers not to participate in any union activity. Sound familiar? No, this is not Peter Reith's Australia. It is the situation faced by car workers at the Maruti (Suzuki) factory in Gurgaon, 32 kilometres from Delhi.
Around 4500 workers have been locked out since the October 12. Three workers have been killed, and one hospitalised, by police. The company, which is 50% owned by the government, is demanding that workers sign a "good conduct" contract which does not allow strikes. It also wants a reduction in the employees' health scheme, forced redundancies and the sacking of employees with work injuries.
The secretary of the Maruti Udyog Employees Union, Mathew Abraham, revealed in a letter to the Indian parliament that "on October 18, an employee and an apprentice, who were under illegal confinement inside the factory for many days, died under mysterious circumstances and the workers are demanding a judicial inquiry into the above deaths".
At a protest rally held on November 12 outside the company's national office in Delhi, workers produced statistics that showed Maruti was the most efficient auto producer in India. They told Green Left Weekly that management had derailed all negotiations on wage increases for 18 months. The local police have been used to secure the factory and have been attempting to get workers to sign the individual contracts. "We earn [A$15,000] a year while the top director earns [A$500,000]. We will not become slaves by signing the contracts", one worker said.
The protest rally lasted several hours. After an initial lathi (bamboo baton) charge by police, more workers arrived by bus and blocked the street. Women and children sat on the road in front of police lines and lead the chants. Several speakers addressed the rally while riot police lined the street outside the company office. The dispute is continuing.