Fire engine at Maruti Suzuki, Manesar, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
Never has India had such a low in recent times. This was as bad for our country, our self-esteem and Public Relations of India Inc. as the 1947 riots, the Gujarat riots and the Sikh riots in Delhi, in 1984. We are at an all-time low in terms of governance, poor law and order, terrible infrastructure and terrible greed by politicians. India needs a government!
On 18th July 2012, Maruti's Manesar plant was hit by violence as workers at one of its auto factories attacked supervisors and started a fire that killed a company official and injured 100 managers, including two Japanese expatriates. The violent mob also injured 9 policemen.The company's General Manager of Human Resources had both arms and legs broken by his attackers, unable to leave the building that was set ablaze, and was charred to death. The incident is the worst-ever for Suzuki since the company began operations in India in 1983.
Since April 2012, the Manesar union had demanded a five-fold increase in basic salary, a monthly conveyance allowance of INR 10,000, a laundry allowance of INR 3,000, a gift with every new car launch, and a house for every worker who wants one or cheaper home loans for those who want to build their own houses. In addition to this compensation and normal weekend/holidays, the union demanded the current 4 paid weeks of vacation be increased to 7 weeks, plus each worker have 40 days allowance of sick and casual leave - for a total of 75 days. Initial reports claimed wage dispute and a union spokesman alleged the incident may be caste-related. According to the Maruti Suzuki Workers Union a supervisor had abused and made discriminatory comments to a low-caste worker. These claims were denied by the company and the police.The supervisor alleged was found to belong to a tribal heritage and outside of Hindu caste system; further, the numerous workers involved in violence were not affiliated with caste either. Maruti said the unrest began, not over wage discussions, but after the workers'
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