By IANS,
Ahmedabad : Work commenced at the Halol, Gujarat, plant of automobile company General Motors Thursday after the end of the 54-day-old workers strike.
According to P.Balandran, vice-president (corporate affairs), GM India Pvt Ltd, the production loss during the strike was about 2,500 units but work on the $300 million (Rs.1,350 crore) expansion project had not been affected. “The production of light commercial vehicles will begin in the first quarter of 2012 as planned,” he added.
Before the strike, the plant was making nearly 190 units per day in two shifts. These included Tavera, Cruze, Aveo Sedan and Aveo U-Va, besides Spark. However, production was down to about 60 units during the first fortnight of the stir though it picked up
subsequently.
The implementation of the expansion plan is expected this year end and is likely to enhance the annual production capacity from 85,000 to 1,10,000 units.
The strike which began March 16 over transfer, workload and health issues was perhaps the most stretched one in recent times. It ended following mediation by the state labour department and reaching of an understanding following talks between the management and the union.
Nihil Mehta, president, Gujarat Kamgar Mandal, affiliated to the INTUC, said of the 1,600 workers at GM, only about 800 were regulars. The remaining worked like regular ones though were paid differently.
The union has taken up the case of their regularization, he added.