Increasing strife between workers and managements in Gurgaon needs to be swiftly dealt with for the region’s industrial growth to continue
Gleaming glass towers standing among a herd of cattle, are proof of the speed at which Gurgaon has been industrialised. The animals have still not come to grips with the pace at which they have lost lush grazing fields to some of the biggest multinational corporations. And neither have the workers and their employers in these corporations come to terms with operating in the mutating industrial environment here.
Over the past few years, a series of agitations by trade unions indicate that the ride could get bumpy for the industry in the days ahead. Alarm bells went off once again last month after thousands of workers sat in protest to condole the death of an employee with RICO, an auto parts maker. Ajit Kumar Yadav was killed, in a skirmish allegedly with the security guards of the company. The conflict is said to have been caused after workers here sought to register a trade union, a move that was opposed by the management. At the core of many conflicts in this industrial hub is said to be the workers’ basic right to form unions and a wary industry determined to not allow it. Most companies, particularly multinationals, are now increasingly employing casual workers, says a labour expert. Casual workers are not entitled to employee benefits such as provident fund and cannot unionise.