The strike by 900 workers at General Motors’ plant at Halol, Gujarat, entered its second day today, causing a loss of 300 cars in terms of production. The facility churns out 150 vehicles in two shifts every day. GM India Director and Vice-President (Corporate Affairs) P Balendran informed: “The workers went on strike before the start of the morning shift yesterday. Discussions are on and we hope to reach a resolution today.”
Sources close to the development said a new workers’ union had been formed at the Halol plant and it was this union that was demanding a revision in wages.
The Halol plant has an installed annual capacity for 85,000 vehicles in three daily shifts. However, the company operates only two shifts. The 900 workers are divided equally between the two shifts.
GM manufactures premium hatchback Aveo UVA, entry-level sedan Aveo, mid-sized sedan Optra, sedan Cruze and multi-utility vehicle Tavera at the plant in Halol. The smaller cars Chevrolet Spark and Chevrolet Beat are both manufactured at the company’s facility at Talegaon, Pune. The Talegaon unit has an installed annual capacity to produce 140,000 vehicles. No labour unrest has been reported at the factory in Pune.
Balendran added: “We have sold 83,909 cars till September this year, nearly 60,000 of which are Spark and Beat.” Earlier this year, the company had ramped up production by adding second shifts at Halol and Talegaon plants to meet the increased demand for its products.
GM India saw its sales climbing 12.58 per cent to 8,617 units in September this year compared to 7,654 units sold during the corresponding period last year. The company sold 69,579 cars last year.
This is the second major labour unrest in the Indian auto industry in recent months. Earlier in June, workers at Hyundai’s Chennai facility went on a strike for two days which resulted in a production loss of 4,000 cars.