The Centre on Wednesday asked the Haryana government to take steps to ensure that the strike at the Manesar plant of Maruti Suzuki India ends soon and ruled out making a direct intervention.
“The State government has the jurisdiction. They have to act. Not the central government,” Union Labour Minister Mallikarju Kharge told reporters, a day after negotiations between workers and company management broke down.
Replying to questions on the central government’s role in ending the strike at the plant of the country’s largest car maker that entered into 13th day on Wednesday, the Minister said the responsibility to implement the labour laws rests with the State government.
“Labour department, according to Constitution, is in the concurrent list...which means both the Centre and State governments can enact laws. Whatever law we enact, even their implementation is done by the State government,” he said on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi.
The workers have been on strike, demanding reinstatement of about 1,200 casual workers. They are also demanding that the 44 permanent workers, who were suspended after a settlement agreement signed on October 1 to end a 33-day-long standoff, are taken back.
Workers at Suzuki Powertrain India Ltd (SPIL) and Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd (SMIPL) have also gone on strike in support of their colleagues at MSI’s Manesar plant.
