Uday Samant, Maharashtra’s Industries Minister, has convened an all-stakeholder meeting within the next 10 days to resolve the GM Hyundai Talegaon worker dispute.
The workers union, government officials, and GM Hyundai representatives will be present at the meeting.
Samant has asked the Workers’ Union for 10 days to resolve the dispute which has two facets: increasing workers’ compensation for existing employees and absorbing the remaining employees into the new facility. The Maharashtra government has asked Hyundai Motors, the new owner of the GM India plant, to consider absorbing some of the striking workers when it aims to begin operations in 2025. It has also recommended that General Motors increase the severance package offered so that workers who wish to leave are rewarded “handsomely.
GM and Hyundai did not respond to emails sent by Autocar Professional till the time of publication.
In an earlier directive, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had asked the Labour Minister Suresh Khade and Industries Minister Uday Samant, along with their respective department secretaries and MIDC CEO, to work closely to ensure that the Hyundai Motor India facility is operational and labour union issues are resolved amicably and satisfactorily.
“We support the workers and will work with Hyundai Motors to incorporate their demands into the upcoming Talegaon project.” We also request that General Motors increase severance pay to ensure that employees who wish to leave are fairly compensated,” the Chief Minister’s office said in a statement.
For its part, the General Motors Labour Union is persistent on a legally admissible solution in order to end the hunger strike. The hunger strike is to protest the alleged non absorption by the new owner of the GM India plant, Hyundai Motor India.
This hunger strike is likely to further hinder the commercial agreement between Hyundai and GM, as Hyundai aims to expand further in the Indian market.
“We will hold a statewide meeting next week with the office bearers of the Maharashtra State Labour Action Committee and Shramik Ekta Federation, as well as affiliated organisations across the state,” a workers’ representative told Autocar Professional.