Mayhem at Maruti

8/12/2019 Mayhem at Maruti

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who have seen their sleepy little hamlet transform into a city of high rises and malls

in a decade.

They are less tolerant and fairly aggressive in their expectations and how they want

to achieve it. Poor wage hikes and raging inflation have queered the pitch further,

resulting in an impatient, militant workforce, which believes in aggressive posturing.

Sonu Gujjar, the leader of the labour unrest at Maruti plant last year, represents that

generation. In his 20s, Gujjar organised a con-call with analysts to put forth the

workers' point of view and made headlines.

b) THE 7.5-MINUTE TEA + LOO BREAK

The strategic decision to squeeze out more cars from existing plants didnt trickle

down smoothly to the shop floor. Striking workers complain about abusive behaviour

by supervisors, which the company denies. Workers say the conditions at the

Manesar plant were too stringent, while the management says the Gurgaon plant

has operated under identical conditions for more than 25 years. In an eight-hour

work shift, workers get a 30-minute lunch break and two 7.5-minute tea breaks. In

that time the workers had to remove their safety equipment, run 150 metres to grab

their tea and snack, and then run to the toilet that is 400 metres away, and be back

in seven minutes. Workers cant leave their workstation even for a minute,

supervisors sometimes deny permission for an additional toilet break, and steep

salary cuts are affected for even a day of absence from work. The Maruti spokesman

says tea and snacks are laid out at 80 rest areas next to each work station, across

the plant. Im not saying you will see anyone strolling about during the tea break, but

it is designed to be just sufficient, he says.

c) The Union politics

The basic reason for the ongoing impasse of the last one year and its culmination in

the grisly violence this July is the demand of the young Manesar workers to have

their own representative union. They did not want the union of the Gurgaon plant --

the parent plant where Maruti began its operations in the 1980s -- to represent them

as they contended it was compromised and had failed to represent workers

interests. But the management insisted that the Gurgaon union was the true

representative of the Manesar workers


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According to some accounts, the workers first approached the Maruti Udyog Kamgar

Union (MUKU), the Gurgaon-based union recognised by the company as the union

for all Maruti workers. MUKU office bearers told their younger colleagues from

Manesar this was par for the course. This is where the divergence in accounts begin.

Demands for a separate union seem to have started towards end-2010 or early-2011. The company says it has persuaded the Manesar workers to join the existing

union and not form a new one. The workers say the company first promised

elections to the existing union in April and officials began warning workers against

forming a new union, a charge the company denies. In May, the company

announced that elections to MUKU, with a proposed new chapter for Manesar

workers, would be held on July 18. (When this election eventually happened,

Manesar workers boycotted it, and a panel in the Gurgaon union that was seen asbacked by the management was thoroughly beaten by a rival panel.) Manesar

workers first struck work on June 4. Workers say the provocation was that company

officials were forcing workers to sign an affidavit stating they were happy to be with

the Gurgaon union and dont want a new one. The company spokesman denies this,

and says the provocation was that some workers were taking the signatures of

others for the purpose of forming a union and supervisors objected to it being done

during work hours. A day before, the workers had filed an application with the

Haryana labour department to form a new union: Maruti Suzuki Employees Union.

On June 6, the company summarily dismissed 11 workers for indiscipline and

striking work. This included the four office bearers of the proposed union. The strike

went on till June 16, when the company agreed to reinstate the dismissed workers.

At this stage, the workers were being helped by the Gurudas Dasguptaheaded All

India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), a leftist trade union.

The cautious statement masked what the strike represented for AITUC and the tradeunion movement. About 400,000 workers are employed by about 1,000 companies

in the Gurgaon-Manesar-Dharuhera-Rewari auto hub. Trade unions have had a

mixed track record here. AITUC and the Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) are the two

most prominent trade unions in this belt. The general perception is that AITUC, like

other Left-aligned unions, has a propensity for violence, while the HMS is more

conciliatory. It is no secret that most management see HMS as the lesser evil. In the

months prior to applying to form a union, Marutis Manesar workers had grown close

to AITUC. AITUC helped them file their application, its leaders met with state labour


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department officials along with the Maruti workers, and at one point during the strike,

Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda met with AITUCs Dasgupta. But

after the first strike ended on June 16, the Manesar workers, says a AITUC leader,

no longer remained in our grip. Several unions were now advising the striking

workers. Gujjar, Kumar et al, listened to everyone, but confided in none. This was anastute move. The union at Suzuki Powertrain India, which is based in the same

Manesar campus and shares the assembly line, is affiliated to HMS, as is the union

of Suzuki Motorcycles a few kilometres away. Too much proximity towards AITUC

would have made it difficult to secure the support of these workers. Apart from HMS

and AITUC, leaders of Central Industrial Trade Union (CITU), New Trade Union

Initiative (NTUI), among others, started advising the Manesar group. After the first

strike ended, Maruti went into damage control mode. It brought in external trainersand the spiritual organisation Brahmakumaris to organise sessions with the workers,

where they were encouraged to speak about their problems. But already damage

was done.

But the peace didnt last long, and the reasons are contested. Company officials

claim the 11 reinstated workers started flouting all shop floor norms by appointed

their own representatives at each bay and asking workers to obey their orders

instead of company supervisors and managers.

A worker at the Manesar plant on condition of anonymity said the Maruti Suzuki

Kamgar Union was dominated by workers from the Gurgaon plant and that it wasnt

really bothered about those at the Manesar factory. He added that the workers had

given the company enough notice of a strike, a claim Bhargava was quick to dismiss.

What are the consequences of such a myopic outlook? When the crisis occurred on

the morning of July 18 in the form of an altercation between a worker and a

supervisor, there was no structure in place through which a management-worker

dispute could be addressedmanagement had eliminated the whole set of

leadership whom the workers trusted, there was no representative organisation

which could have served as go-between and this kind of vacuum of leadership,

organisation and trust set the stage for the unforgivable violence by the end of the

day. Though there was a new union registered and recognised in February this year,


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management had continued to undercut it in the same manner as before. I am not

getting here into which side is more to be blamed for the events of that particular day

all I am saying is that once the mechanisms for a dialogue were systematically

undermined, the preconditions for such an event were ever-present.

d) The Management

A foreign management ethos divorced from labour realities inflamed Manesar

ARINDAM MUKHERJEE

Since 2007, Maruti has been a fully-owned Japanese company that holds over 50per cent of the Indian car market.

Since 2007, two important changes happened at Maruti. One, Shinzo Nakanishi, the

current MD of Maruti Suzuki, took over the reins from Jagdish Khattar. RC Bhargava,

who was a director, was made chairman. Two, Maruti and the India market are also

becoming increasingly important for Suzuki Motors as Maruti contributed more than

half of the parent's profits.

As Maruti's contribution to Suzuki increased, the latter's tendency to control India

operations has increased. It does have many senior Indian executives who have

been 'lifers' at Maruti. But insiders who will speak on the condition of anonymity say

the Japanese voice counts and often tends to dominate crucial decisions. Culturally,

Indians and Japanese are far apart. Their sense of discipline, punctuality, employee

connect too are very different. Some loss of connect with Indians is expected.

The first is the fabled Japanese management. Not too long ago it was assumed that

the Japanese have all the wisdom in manufacturing and management and if only we

could learn from them we would find the answer to our woes. Business schools

worldwide teach special courses on Japanese management and such offerings are

highly subscribed; books on the subject are bestsellers. But descriptions over the

last one year of operations at Manesar demonstrate that essentially the Japanese

trick to success is not so different from the rest: the principle followed is to get more


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work out of a worker, while at the same time paying less. Accounts of Manesar tell of

workers being forced to steal rest breaks, docking of pay for minor infringements,

almost no paid holidays, an army of poorly-paid temps etc. Here is an account of a

typical workday at Maruti Manesar :

You catch a bus at 5 am for the factory. Arriving a second late to punch in

your card means a pay cut, but you cant leave the premises once youve

entered. At 6.30 am, you exercise and supervisors give you feedback on your

previous output. Start work at 7 sharp. Everyone does his one task

assembling, welding, fixing for a minimum of 8 continuous hours. A car

rolls off the line every 38 seconds, which means you cant budge from your

position, ever. You get two breathless breaks during the day. At 9 am, a 7-

minute break to drink tea or go to the loo, or both. After a while you might, like

many of your friends here, end up taking your hot tea and kachori to the

bathroom with you. Then a lunchbreak of 30 minutes, in which you walk about

a half-kilometre to the canteen, wait in line with everyone, eat and walk back.

Returning even a minute late from any break, or leaving the assembly line for

any reason even for a minute, means half a days pay cut.

Overtime is a compulsion whenever the company needs it and the privilege of paid

leave is a fantasy -- Rs 1,500 is deducted for one days leave (even when you

intimate in advance) from a maximum possible monthly pay of Rs 16,000 and five

days leave for any contingency reduces it to the base salary of Rs 8,000. Out of a

workforce of 2,500, 40% are on contracts, casual or apprentice (but do similar work

as permanents) and their take-home is around Rs 6,000, with the threat of

comparable deductions as regular workers looming all the time and no job security.

Another worker states,

The problem is the immense pressure. They are extracting the work of 5,000 from

half that number.


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Marutis Manesar fallout: a management shuffle

Apr 09 2013.

Japanese parent Suzuki is seen wanting to closely oversee several critical functions

at Maruti

Amrit Raj | Shally Seth Mohile

Suzuki Motor is deputing two key Japanese officials to keep a close watch on

Marutis plant and production activities.

New Delhi/Mumbai: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Indias largest car maker, is in the

process of making several top management changes, with its Japanese parent

wanting to closely oversee several critical functions, including human resources

activities.

The move appears to be prompted by growing competition in the Indian car marketand a late reaction to last years labour unrest at the companys Manesar factory that

ended with the death of a manager.

Suzuki Motor Corp. is deputing two key Japanese officials to keep a close watch on

the plant and production activities in the company.

Toshiaki Hasuike,who is serving as managing officer atSuzuki,will be the joint

managing director ofMaruti,whileToshio Ozawa will come in as an adviser for

human resource activities. Hasuike also served as a director on the Maruti board for

a brief period between September 2007 and January 2008.

The Maruti board is expected to approve these changes in a board meeting

scheduled on 26 April.

The changes may redefine and limit the roles of senior executives at Maruti including

M.M. Singh,chief operating officer (production),S.Y. Siddiqui,chief operating officer

(human resource and administration) andS. Maitra,managing executive officer

(supply chain).

While Singh and Maitra will now directly report to the joint managing director,

Siddiqui will work in close collaboration with the human resource adviser, who will be

sending reports on a regular basis to the Suzuki chairman.

Earlier this month, the company announced the appointment of its new managing

director and chief executiveKenichi Ayukawa,who succeededShinzo Nakanishi.At the moment, there is only one change (appointment of the new managing director

and chief executive) and that has been announced, Maruti chairmanR.C. Bhargava

said: Apart from that, I cant say anything as the agenda for the board meeting has

not been prepared.

A company spokesperson declined comment on the matter.

The Suzuki chairman is not very happy with the way things were handled at the

Manesar plant. Post-violence, Suzuki had asked the company to find out the reasons

but the company has been unable to provide concrete reasons, said a person

familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified.
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Last year, production at Marutis Manesar plant was disrupted by mob violence,

which left a senior human resource manager dead. The incident was followed by a

month-long lockout. Prior to the violence, the workers had gone on strike demanding

wage hike and other facilities. Later, Maruti suspended at least 550 workers

allegedly involved in the violence.

In Japan, there has not been any strike in the last 58 years. The idea behindbringing these Japanese officials is to align the HR processes followed in Japan with

that of India, said another person familiar with the development who also spoke on

condition of anonymity.

India has been driving Suzukis growth, with Maruti contributing 40% of the parents

net profit. In contrast, Suzuki has pulled out of the US market and its sales have

suffered in Europe and Japan.

In the last fiscal, the companys car sales grew 3.3% to 1.13 million units.

Shares of Maruti fell 0.62% to Rs.1,407.85 on BSE at the close of trading on

Tuesday. The exchanges benchmark Sensex fell 1.15% to 18,226.48

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Mayhem at Maruti