Workers' unrest in Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor's Haryana-Rajasthan belt: Demand for unionization at Honda

Workers' solidarity protest on February 19

By A Representative
The Rajasthan-Haryana border region of the high-profile Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) is burning with industrial unrest. Following the unprecedented unrest by Maruti-Suzuki workers at the Manesar plant, workers at the Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India Ltd (HMSI) in Tapukara are up in arms against the alleged resistance from the management to allow a recognized union.
With about 466 permanent workers, 100 casual workers, and 3000 contract workers, the dispute at the HMSI plant began soon after the application for union formation was given on August 6, 2015 to the Registrar of Trade Unions, Labour Department, Jaipur, initially signed by 227 permanent workers, with claims of support from other sections.
“The company responded by retrenching a few hundred contract workers from September 2015 to early February 2016”, says a statement issued by the Workers’ Solidarity Centre (WSC) at Gurgaon-Bawal, which is organizing the workers’ struggle.
The proposed union president Naresh Kumar was transferred to a Bihar facility of Honda in November 2015. When Naresh refused to bow down, he along with Union Secretary Rajpal and two more workers leaders were terminated. Fiveother worker leaders were suspended, 20 worker leaders, including the entire union body, were given ‘warning letters’.
Things came to a flashpoint on February 16, when at 2.30 pm, a supervisor, an executive engineer, allegedly physically attacked a contract worker in the paint shop for refusal to work overtime. The contract worker was ill because of having worked overtime for three days. Around 2,000 workers stopped production, demanding action against the supervisor.

Workers' protest at Honda plant, February 16

The workers also raised voice for reinstatement 400 contract workers, apart from the nine permanent colleagues, who were terminated. “Instead of peaceful negotiation, the management called in bouncers and the police. This was followed by an unprovoked lathicharge by the Rajasthan Police at around 7 pm, and a reign of terror”, says WSC.
The workers ran for their lives in and around the factory premises. There was tear gas shelling and gun firing as well as stone throwing. The police chased and detained some workers, with things continuing to remain at the boiling point over the next three days. Five workers of the union leadership were kept in police custody till February 23, where they were allegedly tortured, and then transferred to Kishangarh Jail on February 24.
Parallel to this, On February 19, thousands of workers gathered in Gurgaon’s Tau Devilal Stadium to protest against the repression. These included workers and trade unions from the Honda plant in Manesar, the four plants of Maruti Suzuki (Gurgaon, Manesar, Powertrain and Suzuki Motorcycles), two plants of Hero Motocorp in Gurgaon, Mico Bosch from Jaipur, Rico Dharuhera, Endurance, Sunbeam, Baxter, Delphi, Lumax, Bajaj Motors.
Apart from the WSC, Gurgaon, Inqlabi Mazdoor Kendra, Shramik Sangram Committee and central trade unions – AITUC, CITU, AIUTUC, HMS, BMS, and INTUC came in solidarity. A 13 member committee from among these factory-level and central trade unions was formed to support the struggle”, the statement said.
On February 26, when HMSI workers gathered to protest in Tapukara industrial area after the district magistrate, Alwar, denied permission, police detained 14 workers till late in the evening. “The Rajasthan and the Haryana government have refused to allow workers any space in Alwar, Rewari, Gurgaon and Jaipur for their peaceful demonstration”, says WSC.
On March 1, 39 of the 44 Honda workers got bail from Jaipur High Court, after the lower court rejected their bail application. Five workers in the leadership, including union president Naresh Kumar, whose names were put in multiple FIRs, got bail similarly three days later.
Meanwhile, says WSC, the company is sending suspension letters on a mass scale to workers. At least a 100 of the 466 permanent workers have already received such letters. It has brought in a few hundred contract workers from Odisha and other far-away states to illegally restart production.
---
For more details click HERE

Comments

When democracy becomes a performance: The Tibetan exile experience

By Tseten Lhundup* I was born in Bylakuppe, one of the largest Tibetan settlements in southern India. From childhood, I grew up in simple barracks, along muddy roads, and in fields with limited resources. Over the years, I have watched our democratic system slowly erode. Observing the recent budget session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, these “democratic procedures” appear grand and orderly on the surface, yet in reality they amount to little more than empty formalities. The parliamentarians seem largely disconnected from the everyday struggles faced by ordinary exiled Tibetans like us.

Study links sanctions to 500,000 deaths annually leading to rise in global backlash

By Bharat Dogra International opinion is increasingly turning against the expanding burden of sanctions imposed on a growing number of countries. These measures are contributing to humanitarian crises, intensifying domestic discord, and heightening international tensions, thereby increasing the risks of conflicts and wars.

Dhurandhar: The Revenge — Blurring the line between fiction and political narrative

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan* "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" does not wait to be remembered; it arrives almost on the heels of its predecessor, released on March 19, 2026, just months after the first film’s December 2025 debut. The speed of its arrival feels less like creative urgency and more like calculated timing—cinema responding not to storytelling rhythm but to the emotional climate of its audience. Director Aditya Dhar, along with actor Yami Gautam, appears acutely aware of this moment and how to harness it.

Beyond the island: Top mythologist reorients the geography of the Ramayana

By Jag Jivan In a compelling new analysis that challenges conventional geographical assumptions about the ancient epic, writer and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik has traced the roots of the Ramayana to the forests and river systems of Central and Eastern India, rather than the peninsular south or the modern island nation of Sri Lanka.

BJP accounts for 99% of political donations in Gujarat: Corporate giants dominate

By Jag Jivan An analysis of the official data on donations received by national parties from Gujarat during the Financial Year 2024-25 reveals a staggering concentration of funding, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accounting for nearly the entirety of the contributions. The data, compiled in a document titled "National Parties donations received from Gujarat during FY-2024-25," lists thousands of transactions, painting a detailed picture of the financial backing for political parties from one of India’s most industrially significant states.

Alarming decline in India's repair culture threatens circular economy goals: Study

By Jag Jivan A comprehensive new study by environmental research and advocacy organisation Toxics Link has painted a worrying picture of India's fading repair culture, warning that the trend towards replacement over repair is accelerating the country's already critical e-waste crisis.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Captains extraordinaire: Ranking cricket’s most influential skippers

By Harsh Thakor* Ranking the greatest cricket captains is a subjective exercise, often sparking passionate debate among fans. The following list is not merely a tally of wins and losses; it is an assessment of leadership’s deeper impact. My criteria fuse a captain’s playing record with their tactical skill, placing the highest consideration on their ability to reshape a team’s fortunes and inspire those around them. A captain who inherited a dominant empire is judged differently from one who resurrected a nation’s cricket from the doldrums. With that in mind, here is my perspective on the finest leaders the game has ever seen.

‘No merit’ in Chakraborty’s claims: Personal ethics talk sans details raises questions

By Jag Jivan A recent opinion piece published in The Quint by Subhash Chandra Garg has raised questions over the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Atanu Chakraborty from HDFC Bank , with Garg stating that the exit “raises doubts about his own ‘ethics’.” Garg, currently Chief Policy Advisor at Subhanjali and former Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India, writes that the Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ) appears to find no substance in Chakraborty’s claims, noting, “It is clear the RBI sees no merit in Atanu Chakraborty’s wild and vague assertions.”

Search This Blog