Bosch: Talks inconclusive; strike enters 5th day

Additional Labour Commissioner directs contending parties to solve all issues before next hearing on Sept 26

The first round of tripartite talks pertaining to the five-day old strike at Bosch’s Adugodi plant here remained inconclusive today, with Additional Labour Commissioner directing contending parties to solve all issues before next hearing on September 26.

“I have directed the contending parties — Bosch management and workers union — to sort out all pending issues among themselves before the next hearing scheduled on September 26,” Additional Labour Commissioner Narasimha Murthy said here.

The first round of bilateral talks between the German auto component major’s management and the union held on Thursday had failed. Murthy said he had directed both parties to conduct rigorous bilateral meetings, beginning tomorrow, in spite of tomorrow being a Sunday.

“I have asked both parties to hold 9 am to 9 pm bilateral meetings everyday — even tomorrow despite being a Sunday,” he said. During the tripartite meeting, Mico Employees Association President S Prasanna Kumar said the union rejected management’s plans to take the matter to the court, saying that the issues as such cannot be resolved through legal battles.

“The management is pressing for referring the matter to the court. However, we opposed it by saying disputes such as these cannot be solved in courts,” he said. Yesterday, the union had sought government’s intervention and said it would continue the stir till they get “justice”.

The workers are on an indefinite strike from September 16 seeking resolution for their charter of demands, including wage issues, medical benefits, and on the issue of demand for productivity by the management. The union has claimed that 2,575 permanent workers and 370 temporary workers are part of the strike.