More than 10 lakh workers downed tools on Wednesday as part of the nationwide strike against the alleged “anti-labour” policies of the Union Government, bringing the Gurgaon-Manesar-Bawal automobile sector to a grinding halt.
Most of the auto-rickshaws in Delhi also remained off the roads against the “anti-driver policies” of the Aam Aadmi Party causing inconvenience to the commuters.
Almost no auto-rickshaws and taxis were available even on app-based services and the commuters were forced to look for alternative modes of transport such as a buses and metro to reach their destinations.
The commuters took to social media and micro-blogging sites to express their ire and inconvenience.
“I missed my first class this morning as I wasn't aware about the strike. Had to wait for an auto," tweeted Subhangini Tiwari.
Though the bandh remained largely peaceful, there were reports of auto-drivers groups vandalising auto-rickshaws plying on the streets despite call for strike. Many commuters also complained of the auto-rickshaws charging double then the usual fare from them.
Senior Delhi government officials said efforts were being made to reach out to auto and taxi unions to end the strike. “We have also asked the DTC to ply on maximum routes in minimum time and make as many trips on designated route as possible," an official said.
Meanwhile, a meeting was underway at Delhi Secretariat over the demands of auto, taxi unions at the time of filing of this report. As per the sources, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was also expected to meet the representatives of the unions later in the day.
Gurgaon Bandh
The production in more than 1,500 small, medium and large automobile factories in Gurgaon, Udyog Vihar; Industrial Model Township (IMT), Manesar; IMT, Binola; IMT, Dharuhera and IMT, Bawal was affected due to the strike. The major industries among those affected by the workers' strike are Maruti Suzuki, Honda, Hero MotoCorp, Munjal Kiriu, ASTI Electronics, Baxter, Bajaj Motos, Autofit, Premium Moulding and Bellsonica. Most of these factories have strong workers' unions and have seen a recent and ongoing history of struggles.
The production in all the four plants of Maruti Suzuki — Maruti Suzuki Manesar, Maruti Suzuki Gurgaon, Suzuki Motorcycles, Suzuki Powertrain — remained affected since the morning. “The workers did not turn up for the work and the no production took place in Maruti plants, Almost 80 per cent automobile factories in Gurgaon-Manesar-Bawal sector were forced to shut down due to workers' strike,” Maruti Udyog Kamgaar Union general-secretary Kuldeep Jhanghu.
One of the major demands of the striking workers is to raise the minimum wage cap and end the wage partiality between regular and contract workers.
The strike, however, remained peaceful with the workers staging peaceful demonstrations on the roads.
The production loss in the automobile sector due to the day-long workers' strike was pegged at several hundred crores of rupees.
