Maruti workers' stir to end by Friday: Haryana Labour Minister

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Workers at Maruti Suzuki India's Manesar plant allegedly attacked a group of supervisors on Thursday, but Haryana Minister for Labour and Employment Shiv Charan Lal Sharma is confident that the 18-day stand-off between the plant workers and management will be resolved by Friday.

The minister said he will hold talks with the workers and management at Maruti Suzuki's plant in Manesar again today to put an end to the labour unrest.

"I am leaving for Gurgaon (Manesar) today to meet workers and management (Maruti Suzuki) to resolve this issue and I am hoping that the standoff between both parties will come to an end either today or tomorrow," Sharma told PTI here on Thursday.

The minister said that he would first meet workers and management officials separately. "Thereafter, I will meet both the parties together to end the impasse," he said.

Notably, Maruti Suzuki has declared that it will not hold talks with the agitating workers that have refused to sign a 'good conduct' bond.

Sharma asked protesting workers to shun their agitation and return to duty as a prolonged workers' stir could prove to be damaging for industrial growth and employment generation in the state of Haryana.

"Workers are not realising that the Japanese company, which is giving employment to a lot of state people, may move to another state if such kind of labour unrest continues to happen and it will be a big loss for the state. Therefore, they should come back and start working in the factory," he said.

The minister alleged that two or three workers are not allowing the impasse between the workers and management to end.

On Wednesday, State Industries Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala, while expressing concern about the workers' stir, had ruled out any impact on investments by Japanese companies in Haryana in the wake of the strike by workers at Maruti's Manesar plant.

"Haryana is one of the most successful industrial states in the country and such issue will not anyway impact us," he had asserted.