Manesar Violence Casts Shadow on Maruti AGM

Bangalore: Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) admitted it needs to improve management-worker relationship in the aftermath of violence at its Manesar plant. "The management and the workers need to improve relationship," MSI Chairman R C Bhargava said here at the company's Annual General Meeting (AGM). The violence at its Manesar plant last month in which a senior official was killed and 100 others injured, cast a shadow on MSI's 31st AGM which was also attended by Osamu Suzuki, Chairman of the company's parent, Suzuki Motor. Bhargava, who led shareholders in observing a minute's silence in the memory of slain General Manager (HR) Awanish Kumar Dev before the proceedings of the 31st AGM, expressed hope that the firm would resume full scale production at the Manesar plant soon. "Manesar plant violence was pre-meditated. It was unprecedented, not only in the history of MSI, but also in the industrial relations history of India," Bhargava said. He, however, stressed that to the management there were no "ostensive reasons" for the violence and at the time of the incident "there was no pending demand from the union". Recollecting Dev's contribution to the company, he said: "Awanish was a very dedicated HR Manager. He had a very good relation with union and it is an irony of fate that he was killed by workers." On restoration of normal production at the plant, Bhargava said, "We do hope to restore full production in a reasonable period of time." However, he did not specify a timeline.