MUMBAI: Over 4,000 temporary workers today started an agitation at Tata Motors' Jamshedpur plant against alleged non-payment of revised wages. While the union sources claimed to have brought the plant to a standstill, the company said production was going on.
The protesting workers, including around 600 women, staged a sit-in at the main gate of the plant, demanding payment of wages as per the new three-year wage agreement signed with the permanent workers' union early last month. "When wages were paid yesterday to temporary workers, the amount was not what the management had promised in the new wage agreement with the permanent workers' union. This forced the temporary workers to stop work, bringing the functioning of the plant to a halt," a union leader told PTI over phone.
However, the company said there was no shuttering of the plant. "Production is going on. A section of the temporary workers, instigated by some vested interests, are staging a protest seeking additional clarity on the pay hike," Tata Motors said in a statement late this evening. The Jamshedpur plant produces about 9,000 commercial vehicles a month, with the daily production averaging 300 units, in three shifts.
After the workers staged a sit-in, the management sought six months to look into the issue, but the workers were ready to give only three months, union sources added. "We want an assurance from the management in writing that it will resolve the issue within three months. But it is not ready to do so," sources said.