● Peggiorano le condizioni di lavoro dei salariati auto in India, sottoposti a supersfruttamento per l’intensificarsi della competizione e l’aumento delle materie prime,
● che stanno rispondendo con una serie di scioperi nel settore.
– Lo sciopero di protesta di Hyundai Motor Co India, che chiedono il riconoscimento di un sindacato esterno e la reintegrazione di 67 degli 87 lavoratori licenziati per motivi disciplinari lo scorso dicembre, 20 erano stati reintegrati a gennaio, con valutazione caso per caso.
o É il terzo sciopero in Hyundai India nello stabilimento di Chennai nel Tamil Nadu (Sud India), con 10 000 addetti (a soli 45 giorni da un altro sciopero nel Nord, in uno stabilimento di produzione di batterie, Exide Industries Ltd.)
o I salariati di Hyundai avevano già scioperato l’anno scorso a maggio e giugno.
o Hyundai India di Chennai produce 1500 auto/giorno, è il secondo maggior gruppo auto in India per auto vendute.
o I negoziati avvengono con la mediazione del governo del Tamil Nadu.
– Hyundai ha perso per lo sciopero circa $13,9mn., e la mancata produzione di 2 200 auto.
– Lo sciopero del 2009 di circa 1800 operai del produttore di componentistica Rico Auto Industries per aumenti salariali, ha colpito la produzione auto di gruppi nazionali ed esteri (tra i quali General Motors Co. e Ford Motor Co.).
Sciopero di circa 1200 operai per protesta contro il licenziamento di alcuni compagni presso Nokia Corp di Chennai ad inizio gennaio.
Hyundai Hit by Strike in India
By NIKHIL GULATI
NEW DELHI—The Indian unit of Hyundai Motor Co. said Monday it incurred a loss of 650 million rupees ($13.9 million) due to a production halt at its south India factory following a protest by 150 workers demanding the reinstatement of employees sacked last December.
– The protest is another instance of worsening labor problems at India’s auto makers as they grapple with intensifying competition and rising raw material costs.
– It is the third labor unrest at Hyundai Motor India Ltd.’s Chennai plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, where it employs more than 10,000 people.
– Hyundai’s employees, demanding recognition of an outside union[e] and reinstatement of suspended workers, also went on strike in May and July last year.
"The company has stopped production as a precautionary measure as the striking employees are protesting inside the plant premises," said Rajiv Mitra, a spokesman for Hyundai Motor India.
Separately, a Hyundai Motor India statement said that the suspension of production Monday led to a loss of 2,200 cars with a value of around 650 million rupees.
– Indian auto makers have been hit by several industrial disputes recently either at their factories or at those owned by parts suppliers.
– The latest development at Hyundai comes within 45 days of similar unrest by workers at the north India plant of battery maker Exide Industries Ltd.
– A tight supply of batteries due to the labor unrest hit production at Honda Motor Co.’s affiliate Hero Honda Motors Ltd., India’s largest two-wheeler maker by sales, and its Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. unit.
– A protest last year by about 1,800 workers at auto parts maker Rico Auto Industries Ltd. affected production at local and global automobile makers.
– The stir forced some auto makers, including General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., to either temporarily cut vehicle production or shut factories. The protesting workers were seeking better wages in both cases.
– Earlier in January, production at the Indian unit of mobile handset maker Nokia Corp.’s Chennai factory was hit by protests from about 1,200 employees. The workers were protesting against the suspension of some of their colleagues.
– The striking employees at Hyundai Motor India are demanding the reinstatement of 67 of the 87 workers sacked by Hyundai Motor India Ltd. on disciplinary grounds in December last year, Mr. Mitra said.
The company said the union[e] went on strike even as the matter is pending before the Tamil Nadu government. The Commissioner of Labor in the state is scheduled to hold a conciliation meeting between Hyundai Motor India’s management and the labor union[e] Tuesday.
– "Management had restored 20 workers on a case-by-case basis earlier this year. We have now decided not to hire back the remaining 67," Mr. Mitra said.
– Hyundai Motor India’s Chennai factory produces 1,500 cars a day. The company is the second-largest car maker in India by sales and produces cars such as the i10 and i20 hatchbacks as well as the Verna and Accent sedans.
"We are talking to the striking workers through the state government," Mr. Mitra said.
He didn’t indicate when production will likely resume.
Write to Nikhil Gulati at nikhil.gulati@dowjones.com