Honda relents, to take back dismissed staff

The workers of Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) had enough reasons to cheer in the early hours of Saturday morning. With the active interference of Haryana chief minister B S Hooda, the management-labour spat was settled with a promise by HMSI to take back the four dismissed and 50 suspended employees.

Though the 54 workers may not be working in the assembly any more and would be posted in a non-manufacturing section of the company, the entire settlement processes saw HMSI retract its earlier stand on taking back the dismissed. Hooda called for a press conference at his residence in Delhi at around 2 am and announced that the HMSI episode was now history.

Even when representatives of management and the workers had met Hooda in Chandigarh on Thursday, it was not clear whether the settlement would could be arrived at before things got out of hand again.

Pressure was not just on the HMSI management to arrive at an early settlement but also on the Haryana government, because besides becoming a regular law and order problem, it was also an FDI-related issue for the country.

While industry associations and luminaries said the HMSI-labour spat was an isolated case and would not hit the FDI flow into the country, there were section of both industry and diplomats who said the police brutality on Monday was sending wrong signal to foreign investors.

Though the settlement came in quicker than expected, the workers' union under the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), still believe its only half a victory.

AITUC functionaries said the cases filed against the protesters will have to be withdrawn. Hooda for his part said the law will take it course. Around 60-odd workers who had been arrested would now be granted bail without any further resistance from the police.

Production at HMSI would now return to normal after a gap of more than two months. The workers who had stayed away from work are expected to be taken back in batches. The company has also promised to pay the salary for May and June 2005.