Strike halts Hyundai India production

Hyundai Motor India, the country's second-largest car maker after Maruti Suzuki, was today forced to stop production at its Sriperumbudur manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu after about 100 workers went on a flash strike demanding the reinstatement of 67 workers terminated by the company last year.

Hyundai Motor India Employees Union (HMIEU) claimed that 1,500 workers are on strike to have 67 of the 87 their dismissed colleagues reinstated.

But the company refuted the numbers given by the HMIEU and said that about 100 workers have resorted to a flash strike and the company has stopped production as a precautionary measure.

Employees of Hyundai's factory in Chennai had gone on strike in April last year demanding recognition of the employee union formed in 2007, to hike basic wages and reduce the performance-linked pay component in employee salaries.

But the 18-day strike was called off on 7 May 2009 after the state labour commissioner held parleys with the union and management at the behest of the ruling DMK's union, Labour Progressive Federation (LPF) led by party's North Chennai MP, C Kuppusamy. (See: Hyundai strike called off)

The company agreed to hike wages by 21-24 per cent over a three-year period and took back 20 out of 87 suspended workers, but decided not to take back the remaining 67 on disciplinary grounds.

Hyundai Motor India had taken back the 20 employees on humanitarian grounds based on the agreement arrived in the presence of the labour commissioner and the state government.

The company wants the state government to intervene and find a solution to the problem, which according to it, is already a settled matter.