Maruti Suzuki hikes worker's wages by up to 75 per cent at Gurgaon

Following a long spell of labour unrests, violent outbursts and lock out at the Manesar plant, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd have raised the monthly wages of its workers at the Gurgaon unit by up to 75 per cent or up to Rs 18,000 as part of the three-year wage settlement. Post the wage hike, the worker's at the Gurgaon plant will officially become the highest paid in the manufacturing sector in the country. 

Under the wage settlement agreement signed between Maruti Suzuki and the Gurgaon based Maruti Udyog Kamgar Union (MUKU), permanent workers at the Gurgaon facility will now take home an additional Rs 18,000 per month for the next three years. The said wage agreement will be implemented with effect from April 2012 and the workers would get the arrears in the October and November payouts.

The company had hiked wages by 6% during the last settlement in 2009, with average hike in the range of about 7,000 spread over three years. Its workers in the first year of settlement got around 50% of the hike, which was about 3,500. However, keeping in mind highinflation and the cost of living in Gurgaon, Maruti has revised it more liberally in favour of the employees .

This time the workers will get around 80% of the average hike of 18,000 in the first year of the settlement.

Maruti Udyog Kamgar Union general secretary, Kuldeep Janghu said, "This is the highest-ever hike in Maruti's 30-year history. We have signed an agreement with the management where even the probation of new technicians will come down to two years from the earlier three (years) and the periodic medical benefits to all workers have also been doubled."