INDIA’S largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki ended a 13-day strike yesterday that has cost the company more than $60m (£37.08m), a government minister said.
Employees of the company, 54.2 per cent-owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp, were striking to demand a new union be recognised by the management.
“An agreement has been signed and workers have decided to call off the strike. They will resume work from tomorrow,” said Haryana state labour secretary Sarban Singh.
It was not immediately clear if the workers’ union demands were met.
India’s auto sector has seen spurts of industrial unrest over the past two years and the strike has raised questions over how India will preserve its status as a low-cost manufacturing base while avoiding growing discontent among employees.
India’s labour laws are rated by the World Bank as among the most rigid and some analysts say they hurt corporate competitiveness in Asia’s third-largest economy.
Maruti, which operates two manufacturing facilities in India, has fired 11 workers at the Manesar plant since the strike began, citing indiscipline.
