Manesar violence: terminated Maruti worker’s petition for reinstatement junked

The Industrial Tribunal and Labor Court here dismissed an appeal against the reinstatement of a Maruti worker, who was dismissed along with 546 workers by the company following the violence at the Manesar plant on July 18, 2012, stressing the need to instill “strict discipline” in the workforce.

Saying that Ram Niwas’s dismissal cannot be called “wrong or illegal”, President Kumud Gugnani said in his 66-page order last month: “If India is to compete with the leading economies of the day, it will have to create strict discipline in its workforce”. He added: “The least that can be expected from the justice dispensing department is not to succumb to the oft-repeated sense of empathy and compassion for the erring worker and thus foster further discipline under the guise of beneficial legislation.”

Praying that the termination be declared unlawful and that the company reinstate him with full salary, the plaintiff, through his lawyer, argued that his name was not included in the FIR filed regarding the violence on July 18, 2012, his name was not included in the Special Investigation Team report and the names of the witnesses were not taken in the criminal trial. He argued that he was dismissed without any internal investigation and that the company should have given him the opportunity to present his side of the case. The company responded to the claim, saying the worker was among those who collectively participated in the violence.

The court observed that “not everyone involved in mob violence can be named in the FIR” and that “it is almost impossible to conduct separate investigations into acts of omission and commission of the 546 employees who are likely to be dismissed”.

Around 350 of the 546 laid-off workers are waging a legal fight for reinstatement and consequent benefits under the aegis of the Maruti Suzuki Struggle Committee. Khusiram, who was among those seeking reinstatement, said the decision was a “setback” for workers as all the cases were of a similar nature. Mr Khusiram, a resident of Bhiwani, was working as a fitter for Maruti when violence broke out in which a human resources manager was killed and 90 managers injured.