Toyota Case
Toyota Case
Toyota Case
They alleged that the three employees had been dismissed because they had
been actively participating in the functioning of the TKMEU and demanded
that they be reinstated. As of January 2006, TKM had 2,358 employees on its
rolls at Bidadi. Of these, 1,550 workers were members of the TKMEU.
Industry analysts opined that the strike at TKM raised doubts about the
success of the Japanese style of management in the Indian context. They also
recalled the July 25, 2005 incident at the Gurgaon6 plant of Honda Motorcycle
& Scooter India Private Limited (HMSI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honda
Motor Company Limited (HMCL)7, when there were violent protests from
workers, disrupting production at the plant (Refer to Exhibit I for the labor
unrest at HMSI). These incidents served to underline the fact that it was
essential to ensure sound industrial relations for the smooth continuation of
operations and the safety of management, workers, and the plant
of companies (Refer to Exhibit IIA and IIB on statistics regarding the number
of strikes during 2002-2006and lockouts and a list of industrial disputes in
2005 in India).
From the time it started production operations in 2000, TKM had had a
history of disturbed relations between the management and the workers.
Prior to the strike and lockout in January 2006, the plant had experienced
three other strikes: two in 2001, and a strike and a lockout in 2002 that
lasted for almost two months. The first strike at TKM began in April 2001, and
it went on for about two days. The second one was in June the same year. In
2002, the company decided to call the workers in two shifts to meet the
increased demand for the company's cars. The first shift at TKM started at 8
AM and ended at 4 PM. The workers in this shift were asked to work overtime
for four hours between 4 PM and 8 PM.
The Dispute
On January 05, 2006, TKM's management dismissed three workers out of the
fifteen that had been suspended in February 2004. According to the
management, the three workers, Prasanna, Sridhar Dhote, and Satish, had
been dismissed as the year-long investigations carried out by TKM had
proved that they were guilty of misconduct which included violent behavior,
disruption of work, and assault on a supervisor.
The Negotiations
TKM did not face any major problems due to the strike of the workers and the
lockout at its plant, having ensured that the market supply was not affected
by either. TKM had made appropriate arrangements to meet the market
demand for its cars in the event of the talks failing between the management
and the union.