Workers at the BMW plant housed inside Mahindra World City alleged that they were not allowed inside the premises unless they signed an undertaking with several clauses, including non-usage of personal cellphones at workplace.
The workers told The Hindu that an email was sent to all the employees which said, “The drop in attendance is affecting production and in turn causing impact on business. Also there has been a constant increase in mobile usage in the shop floor.” The letter pointed out that the discipline inside the shop floor and workplace safety are violated. “Production norms that have been agreed for improving productivity are not being adhered to,” it added.
“We were asked to sign a paper which listed six points, including – I shall only avail leave with prior authorisation, I shall keep the personal mobile in the locker, I shall support productivity requirement,” said S. Kannan, deputy general secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Tamil Nadu. He clarified that there was no protest but employees were sitting outside the gate. He pointed out that there was a difference of opinion on a few issues between the management and the workers which could be resolved.
A few other workers said that there were issues pertaining to wages too which had been pending for a very long time. The last wage settlement came to an end on March 31, 2020. A source said that several meetings were held but nothing had progressed. One of the workers said that nine employees were given a letter which said that they would be granted leave of absence from August 24 until further notice. But the letter mentions that they were not placed under suspension. They had been told that they could report to work when the company wants them and until then their salaries would be given.
The BMW spokesperson said that the Chennai plant was in the process of settling the wage agreement with BEU (BMW Staff and Employees Union). Some of the key points of the settlement were: the new wage agreement would be effective for three years and that it will benefit over 270 permanent employees, who are classified under the “workmen” category at BMW Plant Chennai. However, the spokesperson did not comment about the current issues at the plant.
Located at Chengalpattu, the BMW plant started operations in 2007 and produces 12 different car models.
