Illegal strike
Querist :
Anonymous
(Querist) 11 April 2010
This query is : Resolved
Respected elders,
I required your advise with regard to the details below:
1. One of the limited company, my friend working as HR, His company having around 290 workmen and one sudden day they were approached their HR dept and asked about salary increase, because they were engaged as trainee with 3520/- per month salary. their demand is to increase salary upto 7000/-. So that HR told to employees they are paying more than minimum wages as per AP manufacturing wage cealing, because the industry is not categorised industry, it is only a general manufacturing.
The labour commissioner also advised workmen that, the industry paying morethan minimum wage and also this company is under APSEZ area, Hence, no person should not follow any strike upto 5 years from the begining of the company.
The employees are continuining 3rd day their strike.
So,Kindly advise how to deal
Raj Kumar Makkad
(Expert) 12 April 2010
Paste notice at Gate and ban their entry and engage fresh employees and meanwhile terminate them.
H. S. Thukral
(Expert) 12 April 2010
From my experience, the best course in the circumstances is to let the strike fizzle out of its own. Put a notice on the gate that the disciplinary action shall be taken against striking employees. Move a civil court or HC and take injunction against the employees from resorting to agitational methods such as shouting/gherao/obstructing ingress-egress of the factory. They can be restrained from holding demonstration within the active area of factory say within 100mtrs. Start enrolling new employees to instill fear in a section of striking employees of losing their jobs.
Guest
(Expert) 12 April 2010
Call the union leaders and have discussion with them. Do not adopt the arrogant approach. The problems be heard with compassion and try to solve atlest some of their problems instead of finding lame excuses in the definitions of law about industry and manufacturing unit.
It is also that there is no unjustifiability if the employees ask the wages more than minimum wages, if the unit is miniting millions of rupees and workers are deprived of basic benefits. Please the wage gulf between the top management and lowest strata of the workforce. Is this much of difference permissible in equitable society? The people, who are professing that workers are entitled to only minimum wages and they should not demand more than that - do they ready to accept minimum wages and live on those meagre wages.
It has also to be seen that the minimum wages are being fixed in a faulty manner to benefit the industrialists. The minimum wages do not reflect the correct living index and they are not revised after every five years as mandated by Minimum Wages Act. Keeping in view of the prevailing cost of living the workes demand is genuine and the strike may be illegal in terms of law (due to non-issuance of notice) but is fully justified.
