'Maruti Will Not End Contract-Worker System'
Violence at Manesar was a criminal act: Osamu Suzuki
Violence at Manesar was a criminal act: Osamu Suzuki
Simmering unrest among contract workers at the Manesar (Haryana) plant of Maruti Suzuki exploded in violence and arson on July 18; one HR executive died, and 96 employees were injured. Suzuki Motor Corp Chairman Osamu Suzuki made a point of visiting Manesar and meeting every injured worker during a week-long trip just after the locked-out plant reopened on August 21.
Labour unrest is just one of the problems India's No. 1 carmaker faces. In April-July this year, Maruti's share of the domestic passenger vehicle market fell to 38.6 per cent, the lowest in a decade. In 2000, the figure stood at 55.5 per cent. Maruti's finances are not looking good: operating profit margin has fallen from 12.74 per cent in 2009/10 to 8.05 per cent. Return on capital employed has halved from nearly 28 per cent to 13.5 per cent. Return on net worth has similarly declined from more than 21 per cent to under 11 per cent.
The 82-year-old Suzuki, looking calm and relaxed in shirt-sleeves, showed a surprising grasp of numbers and detail when he sat down with Editor in Chief Aroon Purie and Editor Chaitanya Kalbag for an exclusive interview in a New Delhi hotel room.
On the Manesar unrest
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| Osamu Suzuki, Chairman of Suzuki Motor Corp |
This trouble has led to the tarnishing of Suzuki Motor Corp worldwide, and pulled down the image of Maruti Suzuki in India. This incident happened on July 18; today is August 29. More than one month has passed. Many people have been arrested, but I cannot believe that the reason for the incident is not yet clear. The rumours are that these people (the attackers) would be put in jail for a week or 10 days and then be released and then they would be heroes or stars. That was what they were thinking. Already, all those who indulged in this violence - there were 546 people - have been identified and they have been terminated. They must have wanted to extract money from Maruti Suzuki, but we have decided that we will not give them a single penny.
I think the way the (Maruti) union has taken up its dispute with the management is not at all correct. I don't consider this a union-management labour issue; I term it as a criminal act, and, of course, it shocked me.
From 1945, when Japan lost in World War II, until 1960, we also had labour troubles. So I have also experienced labour problems (in Japan). The timing may be different but each country goes through labour trouble in its own time.