Yesterday’s strike by employees of auto component manufacturer Rico Auto and other ancillary suppliers off the Delhi-Jaipur highway in Haryana caused, according to industry estimates, a production loss of around Rs 25 crore.
Seven auto component manufacturers, including two-wheeler manufacturer Hero Honda, whose employees joined yesterday’s protest, are located along the highway. Employees from other companies like Sunbeam, Sona Koyo (the largest manufacturer of steering systems for passenger vehicles), Gabriel India Ltd and Anand Motor Products were seen in large numbers outside Rico Auto’s Gurgaon factory gates.
The Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India estimates the size of the auto component industry at Rs 81,000 crore. About 35 per cent (Rs 26,500 crore) of this turnover is contributed from the cluster of auto component companies located in Haryana. Further, of the 450,000 lakh workers employed directly by the industry, Haryana alone contributes around 118,000 lakh workers.
Component manufacturers are hopeful of a quick resolution to the current workers’ problem. “We hope the committee set up by the government and the state of Haryana will solve this issue in the next 48 hours,” said an industry executive.