Page 44 - DCOM207_LABOUR_LAWS

Unit 3: Labour Laws: Concept, Origin, Objectives and Classification

15. Legislations laying down the methods and manner of wage payment as well as the Notes
................. wages come under this category the Payment of Wages Act, 1936.
16. Legislations coming under ................. category aim at promoting the general welfare of the
workers and improve their living conditions.



Case Study Labor Unrest at Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (Private)
Limited
n July 25, 2005, the management of the Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (Private)
Limited, (HMSI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Company Limited
O(HMCL), encountered violent protests from workers that disrupted production
at their plant in Gurgaon. HMSI was established on August 20, 1999, and a plant was set
up at Manesar to manufacture two-wheelers for the Indian market. HMCL made an initial
investment of ` 3 billion to establish the plant which had an annual production capacity
of 200,000.
HMSI workers were severely beaten up by the police, and newspapers and TV channels gave
wide coverage to the violence of the action. The protest followed six months of simmering
labor unrest at the HMSI factory in which the workers also resorted to job slowdown8(since
December 2004 when the workers’ demand for an increase in wages was rejected by the
HMSI management). With their demands being rejected by the management, the workers
tried to form a trade union and this resulted in a confrontation with the management. Fifty
workers of the production team were suspended and four others dismissed in May 2005.
Apparently there was a show of strength between the management and the workers.

While the management alleged that the workers were resorting to ‘go-slow’ tactics and
were threatening not to return to work until their colleagues had been reinstated, the
workers alleged that the management was using pressure tactics such as victimization of
active union members and a ‘lock-out’ to break the back of the union.
On July 25, 2005, the workers of the plant were demanding reinstatement of the suspended
employees when some workers allegedly attacked policemen on the plant premises. This
led to police intervention and a violent tussle ensued between the police and the workers
in which workers protesting peacefully were also beaten up.

The police were reported to have overreacted and it was alleged that they had been
overzealous in protecting the interests of the HMSI management, even without any direct
request from the company’s.
For companies, the incident brought to the fore the need to maintain sound industrial
relations to ensure productive and profitable operations. The management and the
workers traded allegations and counter allegations on what the root cause of the dispute
was. They blamed each other for the situation that ultimately took an ugly turn on July
25, 2005. The management held the workers responsible for indiscipline and for slowing
down production, while the workers insisted that there had been no indiscipline on their
part and that the management was bringing up this issue only to prevent the formation of
a trade union at HMSI.
Some analysts charged that the incident was fallout of the long-term oppression and
malpractices at the Gurgaon factory by the HMSI management. They alleged that HMSI’s
management had violated certain laws relating to the welfare of workers. It was reported
that a worker had allegedly been kicked by a Japanese manager on the shop floor in
December 2004. The services of four other workers who had come to his rescue were
allegedly terminated.
Contd...

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