This refers to the report “Maruti workers-mgmt talks to resume today” (June 7). Maruti Suzuki had a strong non-affiliated union in the late eighties and nineties but the management crushed that union. The company replaced it with a union that represents the management’s interests. So it is not surprising that workers have chosen the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) to back their agitation.
Also, it is curious to see R C Bhargava, a non-executive chairman, intervening in operational matters. Is the non-executive tag a ruse to keep the number of independent directors limited to one-third of the board under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) norms?
According to the report 80 per cent of the workers in Maruti Suzuki are contract labourers. How is it that the role of this omnipresent yet hidden tribe of contractors – which contributes to a corporation’s profit on the back of low wages and labour insecurity – remains unheralded? Indeed these contractors have replaced the traditional manager.
Hari Parmeshwar, on email
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