Tuesday September 06, 2011

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By Taru Sugandha  ( Assistant Editor )

Workers` representatives were not immediately available for any comments

INDIA`S largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki said that it rolled out just 200 cars from its plant in the north of the country on Monday (September 5) as a worker dispute rumbled on.

The company normally makes 1,200 vehicles a day at its Manesar factory in Haryana state but assembly has been held up since last Monday when workers were accused of sabotaging cars on the production line.

"We are beginning to gather momentum," a company spokesman said, adding that only 435 cars were made last week.

Engineers and frontline managers have been overseeing quality control, vehicle inspection and testing during the dispute, which is the third to hit the plant in as many months.

The carmaker, which employs nearly 2,000 people at the Manesar plant, started rolling out cars again last Wednesday with the help of hastily recruited labour.

Workers had been locked out and told they would not be allowed back until they signed a "good conduct" pledge - an assurance they would not sabotage production, resort to go-slow tactics or otherwise hamper output.

At least 26 workers and 17 others were dismissed on charges of hampering output at the increasingly strike-prone plant.

Workers` representatives were not immediately available for comment but they have earlier denied the sabotage claims.

The company, which sells nearly half of all new cars in India, produces the Swift and A-Star hatchbacks and the SX4 sedan at the Manesar plant.

Maruti Suzuki says problems were discovered during quality-control checks and included doors falling off and dents in car bodies.

Tensions have been high for months at the plant with the company refusing to recognise a union formed by the workers.

Maruti Suzuki last week blamed industrial unrest for its 13 per cent drop in sales in August.

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