Chennai: For the first time in the Tamil Nadu labor-management dispute over the revision of wages, payment of bonuses, reinstatement of dismissed workers is sought to be settled by arbitration.
This is being tested at Renault Nissan Automotive India Private Ltd, the car production joint venture between French company Renault and Japanese company Nissan Motor, a senior lawyer said.
The arbitrator will be the retired Madras High Court judge, P. Jyothimani.
Asked about the reason for choosing arbitration V.Prakash, Renault Nissan India’s senior lawyer Thozhilalar Sangam (RNITS) told IANS: “The various outstanding issues between the union and management were at the conciliation stage . At that time, the company filed a brief petition with the Madras High Court to prevent the union from going on strike by declaring that car manufacturing is a public utility. “
During the High Court case, both sides agreed to go to arbitration and the arbitrator was also agreed, he said.
“The government of Tamil Nadu must notify the arbitration agreement so that the arbitration process can begin,” Prakash said.
Meanwhile, RNITS warned Renault Nissan Automotive management on Monday that workers would boycott the duty from May 26.
RNITS co-secretary T. Tamizh Kumaran in a letter to management said that if their safety is not ensured at the factory, workers will not come to work.
Citing the Madras High Court order outlining measures to reduce footfall in offices and factories, the union said the company had taken no action to reduce footfall at the factory in the company to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“Five workers have died and around 850 have been infected with the coronavirus at Renault Nissan Automotive since last year,” RNITS chairman K. Balaji Krishnan told IANS.
He also said that in 2021 alone, around 420 employees tested positive for Covid-19.
“All of our workers are young and they are dying. There is no social distance maintained at the factory. We had suggested reducing the number of cars produced per hour. This in turn would reduce the number of workers per shift. But management did not. I don’t agree, ”Krishnan said.
There are around 8,550 workers / employees / apprentices / contract workers (around 3,547 technicians / workers, around 2,000 employees, around 2,000 contract workers and around 1,000 apprentices) employed at the Renault Nissan Automotive plant near here.