PRESS RELEASE - All India Protest Day held today by AICCTU against the management of Maruti Suzuki Plant, Manesar.

All India Protest Day held today by AICCTU against the management of Maruti Suzuki Plant, Manesar and ongoing arrest of workers by police in connection with yesterday's incident at the Plant. In Delhi, workers of AICCTU protested at Jantar Mantar and submitted a memorandum at Haryana Bhawan. A 3-member fact finding team of AICCTU visited the area

New Delhi, 20 July 2012: 

All India Protest Day was held today by AICCTU protesting against the preplanned attack on workers by the management of Maruti Suzuki Plant, Manesar and ongoing arrest of workers by police on behest of management in connection with 18 July incident at the Plant. In Delhi, workers of AICCTU protested at Jantar Mantar and submitted a memorandum at Haryana Bhawan. A 3-member fact finding team of AICCTU visited the area on 19 July comprising of Santosh Roy, National Secretary, Ardhendu Roy and Sarvraj, both National Councillors.  

The speakers while addressing the demonstrators charged the management with targeting workers and the Union in a pre-planned manner, leading to the closure of the factory, and condemned the police and administration for arresting the workers en masse, witch-hunting them, instead of acting against the management, which has become notorious for its violations of labour laws. The speakers said that time and again such management-provoked incidents happened in Maruti and throughout the country clearly show the denial of industrial democracy and blatant attacks on rights of workers including right to trade union and collective bargaining.

They said that this pre-planned move of the management was aimed at breaking the strong unity of permanent and contract workers developed through last long struggles in order to scuttle the process of negotiation on union's demands which had recently started. In a deliberate move on the afternoon of 18th July, a supervisor on the shop floor abused and made casteist comments against a dalit worker of the permanent category, against which the latter protested. Instead of taking action against the supervisor, the management instead suspended the worker concerned, without any investigation as was demanded by the workers. When the workers along with Union representatives went to meet the HR to voice their demand for action against the supervisor and to revoke the unjust suspension of the worker, the HR officials refused to hear them. When the negotiation was going on, the management introduced several bouncers on its payroll into the factory to attack the workers. The gates were closed by the security at the behest of the management and the bouncers, along with managerial staff, and later joined by the police, attacked the workers with weapons, injuring several who have needed to be hospitalised. The bouncers are hired goons, and it is they who resorted to arson and destroyed company property. The workers were then ousted and a lockout enforced by the company.

The demonstration demands:

Immediate and unconditional release of arrested workers of Maruti Plant and stop witch-hunting the workers.

Immediately arrest the management personnel responsible for provoking the incident, including the supervisor who indulged in casteist remarks against a dalit worker.

The government labour department should immediately intervene to amicably resolve the matter and restore industrial peace in the factory.

Immediately open the Plant which has been shut down since 18 July

Ban the hiring of bouncers and immediately arrest all the bouncers in the Plant

The speakers who addressed the demonstration are Swapan Mukherjee, general secretary of AICCTU, Santosh Roy, National secretary of AICCTU, Ardhendu Roy, Sankaran, VKS Gautum, president Delhi unit of AICCTU.

Santosh Roy

Secretary