20th March 2017

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) expresses its deep distress and anguish at the sentence of life to 13 workers and of 5 years jail to another four workers of Maruti Suzuki in connection with the violence in the Manesar plant of Maruti in 2012.

The violence in 2012 in which a general manager of the factory was killed was the handiwork of hired musclemen of Maruti Suzuki management meant to create the ground for crushing the unions. Despite no way being responsible for the incident, the workers have been convicted on the basis of concocted evidence manufactured by the state administration, police and employer nexus in a shameless abuse of power. More than 500 workers were thrown out of their jobs and over 200 workers were thrown into jail for up to four and half years. 117 of them had to be acquitted.

However the heinous designs of the Haryana state administration capitalist league to crush the trade union movement in the Gurgaon industrial area could not be achieved fully. Over one lakh workers in the area boycotted lunch on 16th March in spontaneous expression of protest. The workers of Maruti and its ancillaries/ subsidiaries in Gurgaon/ Manesar went on total strike for one hour strike in the evening shift of 18th March. Workers’ unions in Gurgaon industrial area are planning united actions in solidarity with the victimised workers including filing of appeal against the conviction.

CITU denounces the ugly game of the state and capital nexus with the same vehemence with which it denounced the violence of 2012 and congratulates the workers for their immediate and united response. CITU asserts that the trade union movement will not accept and cannot be cowed down with such nefarious acts by the government employer nexus.

CITU expresses its solidarity with the struggle of the Maruti workers and the initiative of the industrial workers unions of Gurgaon in support of the Maruti workers. It calls upon all its state committees, all its affiliated unions and the entire trade union movement irrespective of affiliations to come forward in solidarity with the Maruti workers struggle for justice including the legal battle.

Issued by:
K. Hemalata
President