The twelve day long strike at the Apollo Tyres' Waghodia plant came to an end on Saturday afternoon after the workers and the management signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the presence of the district labour department officials. According to the MoU, the striking workers would resume work from the second shift of operations on Sunday.
K O Shah, deputy labour commissioner, labour department, government of Gujarat said that there were a series of meetings on Saturday after which a consensus was reached. Around 700-800 workers had gone on strike at the company's Waghodia plant near Vadodara from October 23 demanding recognition to a newly formed labour union at the plant called the Bhartiya Majdoor Sangh (BMS). They also demanded re-instatement of two suspended workers at the plant and changes in the wage agreement.
Shah informed that the union is yet to be granted recognition by the company management. A senior company official said on grounds of anonymity that, "The MoU drafted says that the workers would continue their claims for recognition of the union. However, no recognition has been granted yet."
The official also added that follow-up meetings and negotiations will continue on the issue. Workers, however, would resume work. When contacted, Hussain Solanki, president, BMS said, "We would have another meeting with the management on Sunday afternoon, and work can resume from Sunday second shift or Monday first half. Negotiations for granting recognition to the labour union and other issues would continue."
Around 800 workers at the Apollo Tyre's nylon tyres manufacturing unit were on strike, while the radial tyre unit in the same campus was functioning normally. "The nylon tyres unit was also functioning with 30-40 per cent production happening per day", a company official informed.
Solanki had claimed that the company was losing close to Rs 60 crore per day on account of the strike. Apollo Tyres, however, declined to confirm the claim or put any figure to the net losses accrued as a result of the strike.
