Mon May 20 21:29:32 SAST 2013
Mon May 20 21:29:32 SAST 2013

1 killed, 40 injured in clashes at car plant

Jul 19, 2012 | Sapa-AFP | 2 comments

India's top carmaker Maruti Suzuki suspended production at a plant near New Delhi after workers attacked managers, leaving one person dead and scores injured, a company executive said.

Picture taken from www.dawn.com

The manager, who declined to be identified, told AFP that a burned body had been recovered from the Manesar plant's main conference room after violence erupted late Wednesday.

"Production has been completely stopped," he said, adding that more than 40 managers and executives had been injured.

"We have not been able to identify the deceased person as he was charred beyond recognition," the official said.

In an earlier statement the carmaker, majority owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp., said workers had set property on fire, ransacked offices and damaged facilities.

The company said the dispute began Wednesday morning when a shop floor employee beat up a supervisor.

The workers' union then prevented management from taking disciplinary action, blocking managers from leaving the factory after work.

A union official told the Press Trust of India that the violence had been triggered by "objectionable remarks" made by the supervisor.

Deputy police commissioner Maheshwar Dayal said 80 workers had been arrested at the factory on Wednesday night, after clashes in which nine police officers were injured.

The Manesar plant, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) from New Delhi, employs 2,000 people, and normally produces up to 1,200 of Maruti's top-selling Swift and A-Star hatchbacks and SX4 sedans daily.

An extended shutdown would be a major blow for Maruti, which saw its profits slide 29 percent in 2011 on the back of a crippling labour strike and a slowdown in Asia's third-largest auto market.

A lengthy work stoppage in October at the Manesar plant and a nearby factory in Gurgaon resulted in a production shortfall of 40,000 vehicles.

Comments

Mon May 20 21:29:32 SAST 2013 ::
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Jul 20, 2012

Sompisi

We need this type Workers in Mzansdi, not the "Ja Baas" type.......
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Jul 20, 2012

eisleben

I think the manager must emigrate to Australia, New Zealand, Canada or Great Britain. It is the best thing a manager attacked by disgruntled workers can do. It is this sort of things that "scares foreighn investment." Sounds familiar? Poor Suzuki, come down here to Mzansi and your managers will be safe. The workers are told not to scare off investors and they respond by uttering this famous phrase: "Ja my baas." You will never go wrong in Mzansi. Emigrate, people, just emigrate.
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