From June 4th to 17th, 2000 workers of the Manesar Maruti-Suzuki factory took part in a wildcat strike.  

" It was a hard struggle. Without previous notice, the workers brought production to a complete standstill. About 2000 workers spent almost two weeks in the factory. The strike "delayed" the production of 13200 cars and caused a 6 Mrd. R (133 million US-Dollar / 100 million Euros) worth of damage. The workers continued to stike, even though it was officially declared illlegal on June 10th and even though police were stationed within the factory.

The young workers showed great courage, and the company was hit in a phase of full production capacity, nevertheless the outcome was a defeat for the majority of the workers. Their most important goal, improving working conditions and wages, was not attained. Instead, the agreement contained a penalty wage cut of two days' wage per strike day - something that has rarely been seen in India. The agreement also includes the re-employment ot the eleven unionists, who had been fired during the protests, but they will be subjected to an "investigation"  We do not know, whether the majority of workers are demoralised after this strike, but we can well imagine it. 

This strike could have spread. The initial demands and motivations of the maruti workers are in accordance with the feelings of most young workers in the region: more money, less work. In Manesar, there are more than a hundred thousand workers with similar requirements.

The strike paralyzed 200 suppliers in the region, but there were no connections made with the workers of these factories. This might be the greatest difference between this struggle and last year's Honda strike in China. It might also be a reason for the scarce coverage - in mainstream media a s well as in leftist publications - despite the growing importance on the global market of Maruti Suzuki as well as of India as a whole ."

(GurgaonWorkersNews)