Labour unrest at Honda factory

Honda's two-wheeler unit in India has suffered losses to the tune of
Rs 100 crore in the last one month due to labour unrest, which has led to police deployment at the facility and production being cut down by over 75%.

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), which has its plant at Manesar in Haryana, is in the midst of a big labour unrest, with the workers' union demanding higher wages commensurate with the company's growth in the market.

The profitable company, which is credited with reviving the scooter market in India, has suspended about 25 'line associates' and was forced to even dismiss five others.

Scooter production at the plant has gone down from about 2,000 units a day to just about 250 units.Sources said the crisis is far from over with as many as 250 workers shunning work and protesting outside the plant, even threatening those who have resumed duty.

Gurgaon deputy commissioner Sudhir Rajpal said that their personnel had to be deployed at the factory last week after the situation appeared to be worsening.

"The police personnel have to stay until normalcy returns," he said, adding that production seemed to be gradually returning to normal though the plant was currently churning out only about 250 scooters per day.

Commenting on the situation, a company official said trouble started after some workers began "indiscipline and insubordination" after being "misled by some outside forces with vested interests."