Bosch concludes wage settlement in Bengaluru plant

The company stood firm on its final wage offer made to the Union at the end of October

Bosch Limited, a supplier of technology and services in the areas of Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology, today announced that it concluded its wage settlement for 2013-16 with its Workmen Union - Mico Employees' Association (MEA) - on December 8, 2014.

Around 2,600 employees of the Bengaluru plant of Bosch will benefit from the wage settlement. Bosch employees had gone on strike from September 16, 2014, demanding a renewal of wages with effect from January 2014.

Signing this settlement brought the prolonged illegal strike called by the Union to an end. The Workmen Union agreed to accept the company's last offer of wage and benefits proposal that would increase the earning potential - the monthly cost-to-company (CTC) - of an average workman from Rs 64,000 to Rs 86,000, subject to working as per industrial engineering standards for 7.5 hours of work in an eight-hour shift, Bosch said in a statement.

"I am pleased to see all our workmen resume production. Despite the adverse effect of the strike, the company has made a generous offer to its Workmen Union and expects them to adhere to the agreed measures on productivity standards," said Steffen Berns, Managing Director of Bosch Limited on the signing of the settlement.

"The company will continue its efforts towards establishing a trustful collaboration with its workmen and jointly find a way to help the company in maintaining its competitiveness. This settlement is a step towards securing the future of our Bengaluru plant. We would like to reaffirm our commitment to India and its strong growth potential," Berns elaborated further.

With this mutually agreed wage settlement, Bosch Limited's Bengaluru plant will continue to be one of the best paymasters in the manufacturing and other comparable industries, he added.

Berns said the company has also offered to confirm 100 of the 370 temporary workmen at a new intermediate wage level despite the fact that in the future, it is likely to have excess manpower due to a change in the product mix.