A section of the former and current workers of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL) has been agitating against the carmaker’s alleged illegal and unethical labour practices for the last five months. Rallying under the aegis of the Maruti Suzuki Struggle Committee, the workers had been protesting peacefully in Haryana’s Manesar sitting on an indefinite dharna near Manesar DC office since September 18 last year, under the banner of their own collective titled Maruti Suzuki Struggle Committee (‘MSSC’). One of their main demands is equal pay for equal work.
Over the past twelve years, these workers have endured a prolonged legal, social, and financial struggle to cope with the hardships imposed on them and their families. A total of 546 permanent and 1,800 contract workers at Maruti Suzuki were dismissed, with several imprisoned for years, despite the company's inability to prove their guilt in court.
This time around, agitating workers are demanding a 40 percent wage hike and equal rights for contract, temporary, casual workers, apprentices, student trainees, and trainees under the National Employability Enhancement Mission, who make up 77 percent of the workforce across Maruti Suzuki’s three plants in Haryana. Despite laws prohibiting the use of temporary or contract workers for permanent core production roles, the company has continued this practice for years, further violating the ‘equal pay for equal work’ principle.
