Hyundai workers, management fail to iron out differences at meeting with Labour Commissioner

On Tuesday, the meeting between the workers at the Chennai plant of Hyundai Motor company and the company management before the Labour Commissioner proved inconclusive as the two parties failed to iron out their differences over issues related to the current strike at the Chennai plant.

The marathon meeting kicked off in the morning and concluded late in the afternoon.

Production at two factories of Hyundai ground to a halt on Sunday and remained so till shift operations started late on Tuesday.

Both management and worker representatives attended the meeting but could not resolve the issues and a tripartite meeting is slated for today.

Meanwhile, the shift operations that had remained suspended since Sunday have resumed, but workers who took to sloganeering and such methods to press their grievances were evicted.

The company's management has stuck to its stand on grounds of discipline while and workers too have dug in their heels over the issue of reinstatement of their 67 dismissed fellow workers.

Hyundai is India's largest car exporter producing is smaller models of which around 2,200 units roll out on a daily basis. The Chennai plant serves as the company's sole global production plant for the i10 compact car and its bigger sibling, the i20.

However, the frequent labour problems have hit production and production for the European market has shifted to its plant in Turkey. Last month, in a sign of growing frustration with the situation, HW Park, MD and CEO Hyundai India, has gone  on record saying that industrial relations were proving to be a headache despite repeated conciliation efforts.