On Friday on April 28th, the Maruti Suzuki Labour Union staged a a procession and submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, Gurugram, against the continuing process of suspension and dismissal of workers by the Belsonika management.
The relatives of Belsonica workers also played an active part in this procession. Till now the management has either suspended or suspended a total of 30 workers and thrown them out of the factory.
In the meeting held after the procession, the workers and their representatives asserted that the Belsonica factory management had planned to lay off the workers in secret. Workers working for 10-15 years are being fired in the name of fake documents. Belsonica, Sunbeam, Lumax management have fired and are firing workers by calling them fake.
The speakers said that in the year 2012, similarly, the workers of Maruti Suzuki Manesar had waged battle to obtain the right to form a union. Those workers had raised their voice against the illegal contract practice inside the Maruti factory. The Maruti management and the administration together suppressed that voice of the workers and carried out the shameful incident of July 18, 2012. On this pretext, he had dismissed 556 permanent and about 2500 temporary labourers from their jobs. Thirteen union representatives were sentenced to life imprisonment. Even after 11 years of the narrated incident, the workers are persistently struggling to retrieve their jobs with the hope of justice diminishing.
The workers of Belsonica Union, women and children of their families and other unions affiliated to Maruti Suzuki Mazdoor Sangh and all the unions and labour organizations of the area participated in the demonstration. Production methods arte devised to rip the flesh of any welfare measures for workers.
The general secretary of the Belsonica union said that the Belsonica management is firing workers who have been working for 10-15 years citing fake documents. Till now the management has dismissed 17 of our labourers and suspended 13 labourers from their jobs.
During the ongoing settlement/solution talks mediated by the Additional Deputy Commissioner and the Labour Officer, the management is sacking the workers by taking unrest and provocative actions by violating the orders/instructions of the written peace and status quo of the settlement officers.
Belsonica Management is undertaking the main production work by employing contract workers on the machines which constitutes the action of unfair labour practice in labour laws which the labor department is not doing.
Speaking on behalf of Belsonica’s relatives, the wife of union president Mohinder Kapoor said that the management is pervading an atmosphere of tension and instilling fear in the families by sacking the workers. The condition of the families of the dismissed workers has deteriorated considerably.
Similarly, the case of 546 dismissed workers of Maruti is pending in the court even after 11 years. Even till date these workers have not got justice.
In the end, the head of the union while addressing the gathering would adopt the hardest measures to combat the tyranny of the management.
A most significant protest in light of the intensity with which the Belsonika management has tightened it’s noose around the workers and expresses the unflinching resilience of the workers to battle injustice. These events are manifestation of corporate fascism whereby workers job rights are strangulated to the core or lives placed in peril. Inevitable that such spark of resistance has been ignited.
Demands of the Union
- All the suspended and dismissed workers of Belsonica should be re-instated immediately.
2. Disguised retrenchment utilising fake documents should be stopped. Strict legal action should be adopted against the Belsonica manager who is violating norms of proper labour Unon practice and a case should be registered.
3. 546 workers who were dismissed from Maruti should be taken back to work.
4. All the bouncers and anarchic elements posted in Belsonica Company should be dismissed immediately.
5. Illegal recruitment in Belsonica company should be abolished.
6. All collective demand letters pending in Belsonica should be resolved.
Background
For the last 2 years, Belsonica workers have become merciless victims of this disguised retrenchment by the management, in the ongoing struggle against which Belsonica management has dismissed about 17 workers and suspended 13 workers.
A large number of chaotic elements and police are deployed in the Belsonica factory as bouncers. The main production work is being undertaken by recruiting a large number of contract labourers in the factory, which is illegal. The Belsonica management is openly violating the instructions of peace and status quo given during the negotiation of the Labor Officer and the Additional Deputy Commissioner.
On March 21, Deputy Commissioner and Labour Officer had asked the Belsonica management for the criteria for recruitment of permanent workers, notification documents, list of contract workers, etc., but the management has not given any details so far.
On March 30, the labour union and workers of Belsonica Company, which manufactures component parts of Maruti, located in Manesar, Haryana, had downed the tool for 2 hours. After this, the management handed over the suspension letter to 10 workers. Apart from this, on March 17, notices of suspension were also handed over to three office bearers of Belsonica Labourers Union.
On 7th April, Belsonica management dismissed 3 contract workers citing fake documents. These three are the same labourers who have got the membership of the union.
In a pamphlet issued by the union, the workers expressed their 10-point demands. The main demand of the workers is that all the ten suspended workers and three union officials should be re-instated to work immediately. Along with this, the three workers who were dismissed should also be reinstated.
Keshav Kumar Singh, Saddam Hussain and Rajkumar, who have been working in Belsonica for the last 7-8 years, have been fired.
Letter of dismissal was sent to three labourers on their WhatsApp. All these three contract labourers are also members of Belsonica Union.
The union alleges that the management has made several attempts to cancel the registration of the union. This was done when the union had given union membership to only one contract worker.
Significantly, the Belsonica Company, which manufactures component parts of Maruti, located in Manesar, Haryana, has been in serious confrontation between the management and the union for the last two years.
From last 24-25 February 2023, the management has recruited anti-social elements and bouncers in the factory premises. The workers are continuously demanding that the bouncers should be taken out of the factory.
Inspite of not being required in the plant, the management is continuously recruiting contract workers from 23-24 February 2023. In these recruitments, he has also recruited anti-social elements and bouncers. Till date these anti-social elements and bouncers have not been removed from the company premises inspite of several complaints by the workers.Conspirational methods have been adopted as never before to retrench workers and policies designed to mercilessly suppress any labour protest.
Harsh Thakor is a freelance journalist who has covered mass movements .Thanks information from Workers Unity. and Shambir,Leader of Inquilabi Mazdoor Kendra
