Maruti: Trouble at the Plant

The strike threw up important debates on the relations between factory owners and workers, but also a fascinating cast of characters.

The standoff between Maruti and its workers began with a simple demand for a separate union in June this year and snowballed from there.
Workers from Maruti's other plants, Powertrain and Suzuki Motorcyles too joined the strike, halting production at India's largest carmaker. After the strike ended production is back to normal levels.
Mother, Sheela devi and wife, Nisha of a fired Maruti worker Dev Pal, at their house in Dhanawasa village in Manesar. The families say they were severely affected as no salary was released to the workers who were sacked during the strike.

The strike brought to fore, Maruti's work practices, which the striking workers alleged are extremely harsh, but which Maruti claims are in keeping with standard industry norms .
Workers at Maruti's Gurgaon plant taking a tea break. They get two such 7 and a half minute breaks in a shift, which is just about enough time for them to grab tea and small snack.
MM Singh, Maruti's Head of Production, however tells us that he revamped the Assembly line to make it easy for workers to perform operations.

A rally at Gurgaon organised by the Maruti workers saw a huge turnout of many other unions from this region in their support, including some other noted automakers like Hero and component maker Satyam.
Sonu Gujjar, the leader of the striking workers at Manesar is all of 24 and has become a minor media celebrity.
A young contract worker on the Assembly line at Manesar. Most workers at the plant are in their 20s unlike the workers at Gurgaon who are older.

The security guards and police at the Manesar plant share a rare smile, as the negotiations drew to a close.