Gurgaon, Oct 20 (IANS) About 80,000 workers from 60-odd companies in this industrial hub stayed away from work Tuesday to protest the death of a worker in an automobile firm here. Though the strike ended without violence in the evening, the protesters have warned of a bigger strike if their demands are not met.
“It was a peaceful protest and show of our strength. If our demands are not accepted soon, we will go for a bigger protest,” said Kamalpreet Singh, who is the member of Hero Honda Employees Union.

The workers have demanded that the people responsible for the death of RICO employee should be arrested soon, the company should provide Rs. 2.5 million compensation and job to the kin of the deceased family, 16 employees sacked by the company should be taken back, and RICO employees should be allowed to form a union.

The strike affected work in many companies in the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt as workers did not turn up Tuesday morning. They supported the strike called by the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), the oldest labour federation in the country affiliated to the Commmunist Party of India (CPI).

“Around 80,000 workers from around 60 companies joined the strike. The workers held sit-in protests outside their companies demanding action against RICO management for the death of the worker,” AITUC Gurgaon national secretary D.L. Sachdev told IANS.

RICO, an auto-parts manufacturing unit, has been facing labour unrest for the past one month. Late Sunday, a clash broke out in the factory between workers who were on strike and those who wanted to get back to work. The situation spun out of control and left one worker dead and several others injured.

On Tuesday morning, the workers pelted stones at RICO company office and on vehicles carrying company employees. RICO deputy general manager Sanjay Arya was injured in the incident.

“The workers have blocked roads near the company and were not allowing anybody to enter the premises. They attacked our vehicle as we were entering,” Arya said.

According to Sachdev, the workers will sit together after Tuesday’s strike to decide the future course of action.

“RICO workers have a right to form a trade union but the management is not ready for it. The workers have been deprived of their right to form a trade union and we will not let this happen,” said Sachdev.

The district administration Monday constituted a four-member committee, under the chairmanship of Additional Deputy Commissioner Pushpender Chouhan, to resolve the dispute between the factory management and the labour union.

“We have not received any message from either the district authorities or the company to settle the matter,” AITUC Gurgaon general secretary Anil Kumar said.

Kumar said work in several companies, including Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), Microtech, component makers Lumax, Sunbeam and Caparo Maruti, was affected.

Surender Singh, RICO senior vice-president for human resource, said: “The management is ready to talk with the agitating workers but they should shun violence. They attacked our employees Tuesday and damaged property.”

Amid fears that the strike may also affect traffic on the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway-8, the authorities here made elaborate security arrangements.