Bosch workers end strike after state intervention

Workers at Bosch Ltd's Audugodi plant in Karnataka have ended their 16-day strike after intervention by the state government, which declared the strike illegal with with immediate effect.

Union leader C Hanumantha said today that the workers will resume work on Saturday. A company official said that the Mico Employees' Association (MEA) had submitted an unconditional letter to the management to end the strike.

Mico was formerly the Indian arm of Germany's Robert Bosch GmbH, reputed to be the world's largest seller of hi-tech automotive parts, before it was wholly taken over by the parent company. About 4,000 workers went on strike on 28 late September opposing the company's decision to outsource some non-core manufacturing and support processes.

''We agreed to call off the strike after the state's labour department agreed to refer the matter to the Industrial Disputes Tribunal for adjudication. The matter will now have to be solved within six months,'' Hanumantha said. ''We are happy with the government's order as we had earlier also demanded such adjudication. But the management refused its consent. Now, they have no choice but to accept government order.''

Bosch said in a statement that its management welcomed the calling-off of the strike after a series of talks. It ''stood firm'' by the decision of outsourcing, a 20-year-old practice, in the interest of the organisation and customers.

''It is a normal process in any dispute that the matter will be referred to the tribunal for resolution,'' the company spokesperson said.