Workers’ unions join hands in support of Maruti ex-staff

Seek withdrawal of ‘false cases’, release of 13 convicted former employees, reinstatement of 117 workers

More than a dozen workers’ associations and trade unions from across the country gathered at Jantar Mantar on Friday in support of the 13 Maruti workers who have been handed life sentences in the case involving an HR manager’s death at the automobile manufacturer’s Manesar plant.

Speaking at the rally organised by the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangharsh Abhiyan (MASA), Ram Niwas of the Maruti Suzuki Workers’ Union (MSWU) said that a call had been issued to observe April 4 and 5 as the days of protest against the “anti-worker judgment” in the Maruti case.

‘Anti-working class verdict’

All central trade unions, except the RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), will support the protest. “This judgment is not about the Maruti workers alone, it is a verdict against the working class of India,” said Satbir Singh of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU).

“This judgment is a warning to all workers — if you try to form a union, you will land in jail. But we are not intimidated,” said Ashok, a workers’ representative from Maruti’s Manesar plant.

The associations have come out with three demands — withdrawal of “false cases against the Maruti workers”, release of the 13 convicted Maruti workers, and reinstating the 117 acquitted workers.