Bajaj Auto Hikes Wages Of Chakan Plant Workers By Up To Rs 10,000 A Month

After 15-month-long tussle with workers, Pune-based Bajaj Auto and its Chakan plant union have finally reached a wage agreement under which the management has agreed to hike the wages by up to Rs 10,000 a month. The intermittent unrest has affected the production of Bajaj Auto.

Under the new wage agreement, permanent employees having been with the company for five or more years will get a wage hike of Rs 10,000 a month. On the other hand, those having spent three years or more will be given Rs 9,500 a month.

“We are happy that the Chakan union has agreed to our proposals on the wage hike, which we had come up with at the time we entered into negotiations with them,” said a company official, confirming the wage hike pact that Bajaj Autos signed with its union.

The new agreement was reached last week with the management and the Chakan plant employees’ union, Vishwakalyan Kamgar Sanghatna. According to people in the company familiar with the matter said that under the settlement agreement, the management has also decided to convert the earlier Rs 12,000 annual attendance award for full attendance to Rs 1,000 a month.
The revised agreement will be effective, retrospectively, from April 1, 2013 for three years and ends the near 18-month uncertainty, which witnessed frequent strikes and labour unrest at the company’s main plant at Chakan near Pune.

Apart from the wage hike, the other major demand was the near-free allotment of Bajaj shares to them through an ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) agreement. Bajaj Autos managing director and chief executive Rajiv Bajaj had vehemently opposed this. Notably, the new wage agreement does not include the ESOP.

Under the new agreement, 60% of the revised wage will be part of the basic pay and the rest in allowances. Besides, the existing regular attendance bonus of Rs 480 has been revised and half of this (Rs 240) will be merged and the rest divided into weekly pay of Rs 60 each.

Both the Bajaj management and the union have also agreed to withdraw all cases related to Chakan plant within 15 days of the date of settlement.

The Chakan plant employs over 2,000 workers. This includes around 900 permanent employees. The company produces 1.2 million motorcycles, including the flagship Pulsar, the Avenger, the Ninja and the KTM brands, per year.
(Image: Wikipedia)