Sacked Yazaki workers demand they be reinstated

They had complained of inhuman working conditions and, multiple legal violations by the management

NT Correspondent

Ramanagara / Bengaluru: More than 100 summarily dismissed workers from the Yazaki factory in Ramanagara district are continuing to demand that they be reinstated.

The All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) members said that they had been staging protests alongside the workers outside the factory gates of Lakkenahalli, Ramanagara district since December 26.

“Last month, about 153 workers were illegally and abruptly terminated by this unit. Yazaki is a Japanbased company that manufactures automobile wiring equipment. The factory was initially in Bengaluru district in the outskirts, later shifted to Ramanagara in January 2022,” an AICCTU statement informed.

“At that time, all the workers were also shifted to the new unit. They were given assurances that they would be continued in work, and their salary would be increased and that they would eventually be made permanent workmen,” an official AICCTU statement said, adding that the workers were mostly from Belagavi, Kalaburgi, and Chikkamagaluru districts.

“As many as 53 workers were not able to punch out after their shift in the biometric attendance machine on the night of 13.12.2022. Shockingly, on presenting themselves to the factory on 14.12.2022 at 6.00 am, these workers were told by the HR Assistant of the management that they have been terminated. About 100 other workers who saw what was happening to the 53 workers came in solidarity with them and were also sacked,” the statement added.

Management was forced to assure in a conciliation meeting with the Deputy Labour Commissioner (DLC) that all the workers will be taken back. As of now, around 30 workers have been called back for work. However, in spite of assurances, the rest have remained without a job.

16 to 24 hr. shifts: AICCTU

The labour union said that many workers had been labeled trainees, deprived of benefits due to permanent workers and made to work extremely long hours.

“Besides the termination without notice, the workers are plagued with myriad other issues as Yazaki does not concern himself much with sticking to legal labour practices. It employs about 1,500 workmen in this manner, terming them ‘trainee operators’ who in fact perform core jobs which are the same as the permanent workers”, it stated in a statement.