It was November 5, 2019, and the day started out like any other day for the workers of Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) plant at Manesar in Gurugram district of the north Indian state of Haryana. But as the workers headed toward the plant to report for duty, some of them were stopped at the gates. The management prevented 200 contract workers from entering the plant, and asked them to go on leave for three months. The workers started protesting and, soon, others joined them. A total of 2,000 contract workers went on a toolsdown strike. The Indian automobile market had been facing tough times and both the car and twowheeler markets had been adversely impacted by sluggish growth in the economy. The twowheeler market had witnessed a decline for seven continuous months and, in the first nine months of 2019, it fell by 10 per cent. HMSI, the second largest player in the market, saw sales of its scooters fall by 21 per cent and that of motorcycles by 13 per cent. In October 2019, HMSI’s sales dropped to 517,808 units from 521,170 units in October 2018. This case is about the labor unrest at Gurugram, India-based Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Company, Limited, Japan. Trouble started after the management of HMSI asked 200 temporary workers to go on leave on November 5, 2019. The company claimed that the workers had been laid off due to a slowdown in the automobile sector due to sluggish growth in the Indian economy, which had led to reduced production. About 2000 contract workers went on a tool down strike and were soon joined by permanent workers. The members of the HMSI union claimed that production was going on normally at the company’s other plants and demanded compensation for the retrenched workers. The management of HMSI gave a call to the permanent workers to join duty by the end of November. While many employees re-joined after signing a good conduct agreement, union members claimed that without the contract workers it would not be possible to resume production. While the impasse continued, HMSI continued to produce vehicles at its other plants and the contract workers were left staring at an uncertain future. QUESTIONS 1. Briefly explain the cause of labour unrest at HMSI.
It was November 5, 2019, and the day started out like any other day for the workers of
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) plant at Manesar in Gurugram district of the
north Indian state of Haryana. But as the workers headed toward the plant to report for duty,
some of them were stopped at the gates. The management prevented 200 contract workers from
entering the plant, and asked them to go on leave for three months. The workers started
protesting and, soon, others joined them. A total of 2,000 contract workers went on a toolsdown strike.
The Indian automobile market had been facing tough times and both the car and twowheeler markets had been adversely impacted by sluggish growth in the economy. The twowheeler market had witnessed a decline for seven continuous months and, in the first nine
months of 2019, it fell by 10 per cent. HMSI, the second largest player in the market, saw sales
of its scooters fall by 21 per cent and that of motorcycles by 13 per cent. In October 2019,
HMSI’s sales dropped to 517,808 units from 521,170 units in October 2018.
This case is about the labor unrest at Gurugram, India-based Honda Motorcycle and
Scooter India (HMSI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Company, Limited, Japan.
Trouble started after the management of HMSI asked 200 temporary workers to go on leave
on November 5, 2019. The company claimed that the workers had been laid off due to a
slowdown in the automobile sector due to sluggish growth in the Indian economy, which had
led to reduced production. About 2000 contract workers went on a tool down strike and were
soon joined by permanent workers. The members of the HMSI union claimed that production
was going on normally at the company’s other plants and demanded compensation for the
retrenched workers. The management of HMSI gave a call to the permanent workers to join
duty by the end of November. While many employees re-joined after signing a good conduct
agreement, union members claimed that without the contract workers it would not be possible
to resume production. While the impasse continued, HMSI continued to produce vehicles at its
other plants and the contract workers were left staring at an uncertain future.
QUESTIONS
1. Briefly explain the cause of labour unrest at HMSI.
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