A hotbed of emotions

The Haryana-Gurgaon belt is always so volatile. This belt is home to some of the biggest car companies and ancillaries of India and yet it always seems like a hotbed of uprisings and strikes and strife.

The Jat agitation did leave a telling effect on the car companies sales. SIAM said that inventory corrections and the Jat quota protests in Haryana led to a decline in domestic passenger car sales to a little more than 1.64 lakh units in February v/s 1.72 lakh units (YoY). The biggest impact was on dispatches of Maruti.

This makes one wonder why do car companies set up shop there when historically its been a troublesome belt. More than the location, one cannot help but wonder as to what is it about the auto sector which prompts such frequent and prolonged labor strikes? Many blame it on the practice of contractual or casual laborers, who are employed by companies to keep a tight leash on their costs. These casual workers are paid 20-30% lower than those on the company payroll, with no welfare or social benefits. Many trade unions blame it on the more taxing nature of jobs, where the working conditions in most of the auto manufacturing units are long and strenuous. There is also the issue of laborers not being aligned to the management’s objectives and philosophy. Majority of these companies are rated very high when it comes to corporate governance and HR policies. So then why the strikes? Mainly because the management fails to communicate to the labourers about various initiatives and policies implemented on the factory floors. This lack of communication builds a taller wall between the management and the workers.