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India: Reflections on Maruti workers strike of June 2011

14 August 2011

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Even as the strike by the workers of Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant has been successful in meeting some of their demands, the government has backtracked on its promise of having the union registered. Nevertheless, the strike has highlighted the pathetic work conditions in the factories and set an important precedent for workers in the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt of Haryana.

by Jyotsna Singh, Nakul Sawhney

The labour department of Haryana has rejected the application by the workers of Maruti Suzuki India’s Manesar plant to form the Maruti Suzuki Employees Union (MSEU). The order mainly gives three reasons for the rejection. One, the employees resorted to an illegal strike to meet the demand. Two, some of the signatories had a dual membership. Three, some of the signatures did not match with the registered workers’ signatures. While the second and third reasons are technical in nature, the first, namely, the "illegal" strike, is a political one. It poses a serious threat to the workers’ movement in the country, and shows a complete sell-out of the state and its machinery in the hands of big capital. . . .

Download formatted full text below:

Maruti Workers Speak about Their Strike
by Jyotsna Singh and Nakul Sawhney
(Economic and Political Weekly, VOL 46 No. 33 August 13 - August 19, 2011)