Is Nashik the next Manesar?

Even as industry recuperates from the labour problems at Manesar, Haryana — the latest of which on July 18 saw the death of a senior executive at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd’s plant — Nashik, an industrial city in Maharashtra, has become another spot for worker agitation.

The nine-month-old labour agitation at Everest Industries Ltd’s plant in Nashik took a violent turn on Friday as three management officials of the company were stabbed.

The condition of one of them, who happens to be the deputy human resources officer, remains critical. “We did not anticipate the violence. However, we are yet to take a call on the issue. Let the law take its own course,” said Manish Sanghi, managing director, Everest Industries. 

SIMMERING DISCONTENT

• The Mumbai-Pune-Nashik area is called the Golden Triangle and is being developed as a cluster for economic growth 
• Nashik has manufacturing units of several companies such as M&M, Bosch India, L&T, Siemens, CEAT and Crompton Greaves 
• Nashik also has a few BPO firms including WNS, which had a white-collar workers’ strike recently 
• The WNS workers demanded better wages and protested against the sacking of five employees 
• In 2008, too, WNS employees had gone on strike for two days to demand the payment of additional bonuses and were supported by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena 
• Nashik SEZ, spread over 2,500 acres, is being developed jointly by Indiabulls and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation

As a result of the strike, the building solutions company has seen a 50 per cent dip in its profits in the past two quarters at the Nashik plant. “The factories are still running as our executives are running operations in Nashik. However, we would have seen additional profits had there been additional manpower,” said Manish Sanghi, managing director, Everest Industries.

He added about 135 permanent employees were on strike on issues related to wages and reinstatement of three sacked workers.

The police have already arrested two office-bearers of the Left-affiliated Centre for Indian Trade Union (Citu) and six more people in connection with the violence.

Citu, however, has a different stand on the issue. K L Bajaj, vice-president of the trade union, said they would launch an all-India agitation if the issue was not resolved. “The management has shown an unsympathetic attitude towards the whole issue. We had held a two-day strike in Nashik, where thousands of workers from other industries also participated. A deputation will then meet the Maharashtra home minister. If our demands are not met, we will intensify the strike,” said Bajaj. Citu is demanding the dismissed workers be reinstated and the employees be given a reasonable wage hike. Further, Citu officials are of the view that there is a conspiracy to arrest the two office-bearers, who have had no involvement in the violence.

Industry bodies in Nashik have also come together to resolve the situation. The Nashik Industries and Manufacturing Association (NIMA) has come forward to maintain peace and has had several talks with the management. NIMA representatives had also met the district collector to find a way out of the situation. This is not the first time Nashik is witnessing such a major agitation. In 2009, the Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) plant at Nashik had witnessed a 10-day strike over the suspension of a union leader.

In 2011, too, workers at the M&M plant had gone on a one-day strike in support of union leaders, who were on a hunger strike, demanding “equal pay to equal work”.