Maruti Manesar Incident Caselet
Maruti Suzuki Manesar Incident – 18th July 2012
Labor issues and Strikes leading to loss of life and property are not uncommon in India. But what transpired in Manesar Plant of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL) on 18th July 2012 will change the way Human Resource and Labor Relations are handled in our country. The death of Mr. Awanish Kumar Dev (GM, Human Resources at MSIL) became National News and was condemned by every section of our society. The incident in itself is not as significant as the context in which it occurred. Mr. Dev’s demise was not merely the result of a class struggle that was being waged at MSIL but was an outcome of the so called “victimized” band of workers’ well thought plans of taking law and order into their hands, going completely out of control.
Since its inception, MSIL (erstwhile Maruti Udyog Ltd.) has been peppered with labor issues. MSIL has been hiring majority workers from nearby villages of Gurgaon and Delhi who initially were comfortable with the modern manufacturing process and Japanese work culture. In the year 2000, a major industrial issue began on the pretext of disinvestment and demand for increase in wages. The central government prevailed and privatized Maruti in 2002. Since then, the day to day affairs of MSIL went into the hands of Suzuki, Japan.
The Japanese take pride in running the company under the influence of their own culture. Besides technology, they have amalgamated “openness” into the Indian ways of shop floor management which when practiced in the correct spirit has worked wonders for the company. Concepts of Lean Manufacturing, 5S, 3G, 3K, Kaizen, Kanban and Ringi have been adopted with fair amount of success from the Japanese. Everyone wears the same uniform to work and there is a common canteen for workers and top management who would consume the same quality food. But loopholes and flaws exist in the best of systems and the problem starts when people begin using them to gain advantage. In many places the
Labor issues and Strikes leading to loss of life and property are not uncommon in India. But what transpired in Manesar Plant of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL) on 18th July 2012 will change the way Human Resource and Labor Relations are handled in our country. The death of Mr. Awanish Kumar Dev (GM, Human Resources at MSIL) became National News and was condemned by every section of our society. The incident in itself is not as significant as the context in which it occurred. Mr. Dev’s demise was not merely the result of a class struggle that was being waged at MSIL but was an outcome of the so called “victimized” band of workers’ well thought plans of taking law and order into their hands, going completely out of control.
Since its inception, MSIL (erstwhile Maruti Udyog Ltd.) has been peppered with labor issues. MSIL has been hiring majority workers from nearby villages of Gurgaon and Delhi who initially were comfortable with the modern manufacturing process and Japanese work culture. In the year 2000, a major industrial issue began on the pretext of disinvestment and demand for increase in wages. The central government prevailed and privatized Maruti in 2002. Since then, the day to day affairs of MSIL went into the hands of Suzuki, Japan.
The Japanese take pride in running the company under the influence of their own culture. Besides technology, they have amalgamated “openness” into the Indian ways of shop floor management which when practiced in the correct spirit has worked wonders for the company. Concepts of Lean Manufacturing, 5S, 3G, 3K, Kaizen, Kanban and Ringi have been adopted with fair amount of success from the Japanese. Everyone wears the same uniform to work and there is a common canteen for workers and top management who would consume the same quality food. But loopholes and flaws exist in the best of systems and the problem starts when people begin using them to gain advantage. In many places the