Factory lockout: Stalemate at Toyota Kirloskar unit enters 16th day
The stalemate between the workers and management of Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) entered the 16th showing no signs of a thaw.
While the agitating labour alleged pressure at work, the company said it us the workers’ suspension following misconduct and unacceptable behaviour which triggered the crisis. A dialogue with the workers is possible only in a conducive environment, said company’s spokesperson.
TKM’s main production unit at Bidadi near Bengaluru has been operating with skeletal staff, producing less than 100 units a day as compared to 450-500 units normally.
TKM maintained it is able to fulfil the market demand with the stock available with us, both at the factory as well as at the dealer’s end.
“The representative elected by the workers was suspended as he questioned the workload. They (management) are calling it misconduct but have yet to file any charge sheet,” said Gangadhar M N, joint secretary Toyota Kirloskar Motor Employee Union (TKMEU). After announcing the lockout 39 more members were suspended, he said.
On Thursday, TKMEU submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner of Ram Nagar district.
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The company however, has another version: “One of TKM employees who has systematic record of misconduct was again involved in breach of discipline and unacceptable behavior which is in violation of company rules and service policy of the Accordingly, he was placed under suspension pending enquiry in line with the company rules and applicable laws.”
The current crisis comes at a time when the local arm of the Japanese carmaker is looking to ramp up production to take advantage of the surge in demand in the recent past.
Battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, the maker of the Fortuner and Innova models is staring at a steep loss in the ongoing fiscal. It has initiated slew of measures to contain costs at various levels.
K R Shyam Sundar, professor of Human Resource Management at XLRI and Xavier Institute of Management says the company management is well within its rights to impose a lockout.
“The larger industrial relations issue which is a concern, is the shopfloor work intensification model that restricts workers’ non-work hours (lunch time, tea time, rest room time)
It would not lead to increase in productivity or profit maximization, he pointed. “This kind of flawed management thinking is characteristic of an automobile and textile companies.”
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Close to 1,200 workers at the Bidadi factory went on a ‘sit in strike’ from 9th of November, which the company claimed it as an illegal strike.
“The conveyor’s speed was increased. With lesser workforce, it was tough. They should discuss with the union and the workers if there are any major changes being made to production,” he said. After the Covid, TKM let go off of half of the 1,000 contract workers it had, this has created lot of pressure.
Vijay Bhaskar, AITUC, state general secretary who is advising the union says, “Instead of settling the issues amicably or recruiting some contract workers, the management suspended the union member. As a result the workers had to resort to sit-in strike.”
TKM’s spokesperson said the company is “always open for a meeting and discussions with the Union. However, a conducive environment will always make such meetings more productive and conclusive and as a policy we do not negotiate on disciplinary matters.”
To be sure, the unit has a history of labour strife. Production crippled at the facility for over a month in 2014 as the workers and management had a standoff over wages after the Karnataka government intervened.
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