General Motors India may cut down number of employees if strike continues

General Motors India said it would not hesitate to cut down on the number of employees in the wake of the current downturn in the auto industry. The remarks from its senior official came at a time when no end was in sight to its nine-day strike. 

The strike was called against unfair labour practices and the workers have submitted medical reports of 269 colleagues with back injury to National Human Rights Commission seeking its intervention. 

The company's Friday deadline evoked lukewarm response and 250 out of 900 workers continued to stay away from company's Halol plant, its largest India facility. "In the wake of the current downturn in the auto industry, we might even continue with just one shift (and discontinue the second shift altogether)," said GM India vice-president P Balendran . 

Halol has a capacity to produce 85,000 units per annum and manufactures Chevrolet Cruze, Aveo, U-VA and Optra models. Close to 900 workers manufactured about 100 units per day in two shifts before 250 permanent workers went on flash strike from March 16. Since then, the production dropped to 70 units in one shift. 

"Workers cannot earn their wages at the cost of their lives - they are popping pain-killers owing to workload," said INTUC general secretary Nihil Mehta spearheading the strike. 

He claims GM increased the workload at Halol from 176 units to 208 units per day. While wages were revised in December 2010, allowances including bonus, PF, gratuity, ESI were not included in the overtime wages in violation of The Factories Act, he adds. GM is alleged to have transferred handful workers who complained of injuries to their back owing to the workload. 

Rubbishing the charges, Balendran said, "GM is a global corporation and have been following the best industry practices. We are in fact, underutilising the capacities of our workforce by making just 190 units per day. About 70% of the striking workers reported to work today and we should be able to produce about a 100 units per day fromMonday."