Problems We Face - Sri Krishna College of Engineering and ...

116 PHAROS
Honda Honda Labour Labour Unr Unrest Unr est
The paper on "The Honda Labour Unrest" was presented by Arun Arun K K and and R R R Karthikey Karthikeyan Karthikey an of of
of
II II MB MBA MB MBA
A and won the first first prize prize in in the the Inter Inter Collegiate Collegiate Paper Paper Pr Presentation Pr esentation Contest
Contest
conducted by Jay Jaya Jay a Engineering Engineering Colleg College, Colleg Chennai Chennai, Chennai in 0ctober 2005
The presentation started off by drawing a parallel between the Honda Motor unrest, Gurgoan
(2005) and the East India Cotton Mills unrest, Faridabad (1979); which destroyed Faridabad's
industry forever.
Are the Labour unions back? The riot that followed the Labour - Management dispute in
Gurgoan over the Honda motorcycle and Scooter India could be the first major sign of
things to come.
The HMSI Pvt. Ltd., with its manufacturing facility at Manesar in Gurgaon district, employed
more than 3500 workers - both regular and trainees. The HMSI management has been
blatantly violating all the Labour laws in their organization and its officials often resorted to
harassment of the workers. This gave rise to the need for a registered trade union, which
the management did not allow. This led to unrest among the employees and eventually led
to the industrial unrest.
Labour-management differences started in HMSI from December 2004. The problem
escalated in April 2005. It went out of hand on 25 July 2005 with a riot in Gurgoan where
protesters were lathi-charged by the State police. The Chief Minister R S Hooda stepped in
to resolve the strike and was settled on 30 July - after HMSI took back the four dismissed
employees.
The presentation also contained the views of HMSI Management, trade unions and the State
administration; the political reactions of various eminent personalities and Institutions and
the worries of the auto industry in India. The presentation also discussed the future
challenges and what the employers seek.
Much of the focus in this entire issue has naturally been on the genesis of the problem -
the recolonising process of globalization being enthusiastically ushered in by our ruling
classes. But the mindless obsession with FDI of the government is emboldening the foreign
companies to blatantly disregard our Labour laws.
But, then, Gurgaon gives hope as well. The militant manner in which the workers braved the
lathis and the unflinching eagerness to continue their just struggle; the involvement of the
workers' families in fighting for justice; and more importantly, the countrywide reaction this
savagery has generated are a case in point.
Arun Arun Arun K K and and R R Karthikey Karthikeyan Karthikey an
II MBA