Mumbai:
Deadlock at the Chakan plant of auto major Bajaj continued as state minister-mediated tripartite talks today failed to end the 18-day-old strike.
Now, a solution is likely only next week, sources said. State Labour Minister Hassan Mushrif had on Thursday said he would call the management for a meeting if today's meeting with the Chief Labour Commissioner failed to yield results. "We demand that all those 21 employees who have been suspended by the company on flimsy grounds be taken back and our other demands including pay revision and stock option also be considered," a Bajaj Auto union leader told agencies after the meeting.
However, the management stuck to its stand, saying it is ready to reinstate some of them, but not all; therefore, the talks did not resolve the issues, union sources said. The management could not be reached for comments. Earlier, the state's Chief Labour Commissioner, who was asked by the minister to intervene, held a 3-hour long-meeting with the Bajaj Auto management and Chakan plant union in Pune in the afternoon.
"We now expect some solution when the management meets the minister next week," said a source. Yesterday, the union and the Shramik Ekta Mahasangh, which claims to represent about 88 unions in Chakan, Pimpri- Chinchwad and adjoining areas, called on the labour minister here to end the deadlock.
After meeting the union leaders here, the minister had told reporters that he had asked the Chief Labour Commissioner to hold talks with the management and union in Pune today.
"If the meeting fails to resolve the agitation, I will call the Bajaj management here next week," Mushrif had said. Around 1,500 employees, including 600-odd contract and temporary workers, have stopped work at the Chakan plant since June 25. They are demanding wage revision, better work conditions, withdrawal of "fake and flimsy" cases slapped on 21 employees and huge stock options.
The meetings with the minister came a day after the talks between the management and its union failed to end the over wo-week deadlock. The Pune Labour Commissioner had issued a show-cause notice to the company last Tuesday, granting it three days time to respond, over the alleged deployment of unlicensed contract workers at the plant.
Bajaj Auto had in a statement yesterday said around 635 workers reported to work and that it was planning to roll out over 1,800 vehicles at Chakan and 950 Pulsars at Waluj.
