In My childhood, I heard this from Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sanghis
" Sanjay ki Ma ROTI, sadko pe firti hai "
Reading about Labor unrest at the Manesar plant of Maruti Suzuki Ltd, I remembered this slogan, and thus came the idea for this story.
Long long ago, there was a fine young lady known by the name of Indira Gadhvi, she gave birth to a beautiful boy and named him Rajiv Gadhvi.
As soon as he was born, since he was the 1st born he was wrapped in a beautiful woven woolen blanket, bathed using Johnson & Johnson Baby soap, Johnson Baby Oil was applied on his body, and every time after he passed stool, he was cleaned and Johnson & Johnson baby powder was sprinkled on his ass. He slept happily, he was fed on time, and hence was a content baby, so he smiled most of the time. As the mother was inexperienced, she met pediatrician almost daily, gave him his BCG , DPT, Polio vaccines promptly, gave him boiled water, mashed food and Cerelac, Now two things happened :-
1 Rajiv became a child very sensitive to vagaries of weather ( But every time he fell ill, Mother used to promptly take him to the pediatrician, GIVEN ONLY PRESCRIPTION DRUGS) and docile and obedient child.
2 Rajiv was a happy child, because he got everything he wanted, at the same time, very tantrum throwing, because, he knew , his mother would accede to all his requests promptly.
A few years later, Indira was blessed with another child, she named him Sanjay Gadhvi, being the 2ND child, since the mother was now experienced, did not repeat her mistake of pampering the child, he was wrapped in Rajiv's hand me downs, and always wore Rajiv's old clothes, and played with Rajiv's old toys. At times his vaccinations got delayed, he was treated without fuss, when he fell ill, he was given OVER THE COUNTER DRUGS like crocin syrup, as soon as he had fever, and max mox when he coughed. He was given Chapatis or Bananas from a very early age, to eat & not Cerelac, and given Dairy Cow Milk, from Mother Dairy, to drink.
This made the boy
1 Tough and resilient to the vagaries of weather ( He very rarely fell ill, even if he did, he took it casually)
2 Rough and Tough, Bully type and a man with a very sharp Temper, resorting to violent behavior, against anyone who opposed him. He took the anger of being ignored by his busy mother, on whoever bothered him the slightest. He frequently bullied other boys in his surroundings.
Some days later Rajiv Married a Well mannered Girl Sonia Maina with the blessings of his Mother, whereas Sanjay married Maneka Sing to face the ire of his mother.Sanjay after this behaved very brashly, and became highly arrogant and uncontrollable, the result of which, had to be faced by some innocent citizens of their city.
Now, let us substitute Indira Gadhvi with The Management of Maruti Suzuki Limited, Rajiv Gadhvi , with the pampered spoilt to boot and treated as equals, Permanent employees of Maruti Suzuki Limited Gurgaon plant, paid nearly Ra 18000 per month, with proper work breaks, canteen facilities, where its CEO, R C Bhargava eats with them, wearing the same uniform, and Sanjay Gadhvi, with the hapless contractual labour, at Maruti Suzuki Limited, Manesar Plant, paid Ra6000 per month, given 2 7 minute breaks in an 8 hour shift, with toilets, situated 1 km from their work stations.
I will not give any conclusion, you as a reader react. I would love a feed back. If this post is read by some executive working at Maruti Suzuki Limited, please ask Shinzo San to read it. Maybe it would benefit one of the best 4 wheeler manufacturing firm in India..
Some Annexures
Tweets to @greatbong ( on his one sided blog-post on Killing of the Maruti HR Manager at Manesar Plant) and @amreekandesi
Screen Shot
A thread on Gujrat based on Mr Modi's statement in Japan, with Maruti reference, and a comment by one of the participants, that he is privy to the knowledge , that workjing conditions at Maruti suzuki Limited, Manesar plant, are pretty bad ( I TOO HAVE 1ST HAND INFO ABOUT THIS) But to sound unbiased a third party link
A bit.ly BUNDLE Containing 3 blogs on Wall Street Journal on the Maruti Manesar Plant unrest, of course critical of its HR Policies of Maruti Suzuki Limited.
A bit.ly BUNDLE on Leadership and Motivational Practices for better productivity
I re-iterate
I AM BULLISH ON THE MARUTI SUZUKI STOCK AND ADVISE EVERYONE TO BUY IT ON EVERY FALL. It is the best 4 wheeler manufacturing firm in India, having high indigenous content, as compared to Hyundai Motor Car.
My take on labour wage policy.
A) I don't have any objection to contractual labour, labour should be demand linked, and should be allowed to be increased/decreased as per the demand/seasonal fluctuations. I am perfectly OK with benching policy, with demand fluctuation.
B) My problem/objection is on the issue of differential wage policy, having huge gap, between the permanent (Older & Less productive labour force) and Contractual ( Younger and more productive work force) . Mind you the work flow, process is the same, and more so, the newer facilities, where contractual work force is employed needs higher skill sets, and hence an equal work for equal pay policy. ( One may check with a Supreme Court Judgement on the issue, of equal work for equal pay, between Regional Rural Bank employees Union v/s Regional Rural Banks ( a class action suit , demanding equal pay parity with the Nationalized PSU Banks, which the employee union won)
C) The only difference in pay in my opinion should be the social security costs(pf/gratuity/pension benefits ) which are paid to, deducted from, a permanent employee only, and remitted to PF trust/ Pension/Gratuity reserve fund (annually from profits) . The social security costs of unorganized labour must be borne by Government, from the cess received from the industry, for employee welfare measures.
D) Further, the duration for which the labour is kept contractual is very disheartening , because, having 75% of your workforce as contractual, when the demand is constant, is highly irregular and unconstitutional as per current Labour laws in India. The Labour records are a computerized data, which can give graphically the average peak labour workforce, which must be the number of permanent labour, and fluctuating workforce, the contractual labour. It does not require knowledge of Rocket Science, to calculate average Labour employed data, the same is done on a daily basis, by all the costs and works manager of firms, in order to come at costs/profit calculations.
In the GARB OF LIBERALIZATION, Employers cannot resort to Draconian & Dictatorial attitude towards slaves, as shown in Terminator II and Bollywood movie Karma by Dr Dang. World over, if you check with United Airlines, Exxon, British Petroleum, Corus or Land Rover( Both of which the TATA's acquired) The severance pay of a labour is to be planned and paid by any employer at the time of retrenchment/shutdown is a part of HR Policy of any firm.
The issue of contractual labour/outsourcing is not an issue only with Maruti Suzuki Limited, but the entire organized sector employment in India, including the Indian Railways, Army, State/Government of India and Public Sector ( some examples are part time sweepers, water boys, drivers and ATM Security)
There are 3 risks in having huge contractual work force
1 Increased risk of Frauds and Graft because of non fulfillment of basic social and economic needs .
2 Economic and social disparity between identical class of workers. (They have to maintain same status mind you, living next to each other)
3 Increased social unrest because of social taunts by relatives, spouses, children and society.
The above 3 factors are a well researched and experienced facts experienced by this writer.
Since the liberalization in 1991 the economic disparities between rich and poor have widened, so is this policy justified, in the long run, such disparities lead to unrest's, like that in Mao infested areas and Manesar. It is the duty of all the stake holders Employers, employees, governments and Labour Cells of the STATE Government, to amicably sit across the table and settle. If unsettled for long More Manesar s are bound to happen. One can study the Datta Samant Textile labour strikes in Mumbai & Rajan Nair Auto Industry strikes in Pune / Akurdi belt in the 90's and its effect on the Crime Rate of Mumbai. It is a fact,
The media reportage/depiction of Maruti Manesar plant issue (especially by NDTV) is a HIGHLY BIASED & ONE SIDED PORTRAYAL OF FACTS. The facts which are still disputable.
1 What was the " Cause of Death " of the HR Manager, Maruti Susuki Limited.as per post-mortem report?
2 Was the " Cause OF Death " Injury/ies or Asphyxiation ?
3 If the cause of death was Injury/ies , was it because of violence and injury/ies caused by labour, or by stamped.
Unless the above facts are not clearly enumerated by the electronic media, an UNFAIR media trial of the labour at Manesar is HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE, because Maruti Suzuki Limited issues loads of TVC's to these television channels.
My take on labour wage policy.
A) I don't have any objection to contractual labour, labour should be demand linked, and should be allowed to be increased/decreased as per the demand/seasonal fluctuations. I am perfectly OK with benching policy, with demand fluctuation.
B) My problem/objection is on the issue of differential wage policy, having huge gap, between the permanent (Older & Less productive labour force) and Contractual ( Younger and more productive work force) . Mind you the work flow, process is the same, and more so, the newer facilities, where contractual work force is employed needs higher skill sets, and hence an equal work for equal pay policy. ( One may check with a Supreme Court Judgement on the issue, of equal work for equal pay, between Regional Rural Bank employees Union v/s Regional Rural Banks ( a class action suit , demanding equal pay parity with the Nationalized PSU Banks, which the employee union won)
C) The only difference in pay in my opinion should be the social security costs(pf/gratuity/pension benefits ) which are paid to, deducted from, a permanent employee only, and remitted to PF trust/ Pension/Gratuity reserve fund (annually from profits) . The social security costs of unorganized labour must be borne by Government, from the cess received from the industry, for employee welfare measures.
D) Further, the duration for which the labour is kept contractual is very disheartening , because, having 75% of your workforce as contractual, when the demand is constant, is highly irregular and unconstitutional as per current Labour laws in India. The Labour records are a computerized data, which can give graphically the average peak labour workforce, which must be the number of permanent labour, and fluctuating workforce, the contractual labour. It does not require knowledge of Rocket Science, to calculate average Labour employed data, the same is done on a daily basis, by all the costs and works manager of firms, in order to come at costs/profit calculations.
In the GARB OF LIBERALIZATION, Employers cannot resort to Draconian & Dictatorial attitude towards slaves, as shown in Terminator II and Bollywood movie Karma by Dr Dang. World over, if you check with United Airlines, Exxon, British Petroleum, Corus or Land Rover( Both of which the TATA's acquired) The severance pay of a labour is to be planned and paid by any employer at the time of retrenchment/shutdown is a part of HR Policy of any firm.
The issue of contractual labour/outsourcing is not an issue only with Maruti Suzuki Limited, but the entire organized sector employment in India, including the Indian Railways, Army, State/Government of India and Public Sector ( some examples are part time sweepers, water boys, drivers and ATM Security)
There are 3 risks in having huge contractual work force
1 Increased risk of Frauds and Graft because of non fulfillment of basic social and economic needs .
2 Economic and social disparity between identical class of workers. (They have to maintain same status mind you, living next to each other)
3 Increased social unrest because of social taunts by relatives, spouses, children and society.
The above 3 factors are a well researched and experienced facts experienced by this writer.
Since the liberalization in 1991 the economic disparities between rich and poor have widened, so is this policy justified, in the long run, such disparities lead to unrest's, like that in Mao infested areas and Manesar. It is the duty of all the stake holders Employers, employees, governments and Labour Cells of the STATE Government, to amicably sit across the table and settle. If unsettled for long More Manesar s are bound to happen. One can study the Datta Samant Textile labour strikes in Mumbai & Rajan Nair Auto Industry strikes in Pune / Akurdi belt in the 90's and its effect on the Crime Rate of Mumbai. It is a fact,
The media reportage/depiction of Maruti Manesar plant issue (especially by NDTV) is a HIGHLY BIASED & ONE SIDED PORTRAYAL OF FACTS. The facts which are still disputable.
1 What was the " Cause of Death " of the HR Manager, Maruti Susuki Limited.as per post-mortem report?
2 Was the " Cause OF Death " Injury/ies or Asphyxiation ?
3 If the cause of death was Injury/ies , was it because of violence and injury/ies caused by labour, or by stamped.
Unless the above facts are not clearly enumerated by the electronic media, an UNFAIR media trial of the labour at Manesar is HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE, because Maruti Suzuki Limited issues loads of TVC's to these television channels.
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