According to ET report, General Motors India (GM India) has laid off 1,086 workers who didn’t accept a Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) at the automaker’s plant near Pune.
Employee union has approached the industrial court against the company.
Almost one-third of employees at the Talegaon facility have accepted the voluntary separation scheme by the July 4 deadline. The local unit of GM India has laid off the remaining people on July 12.
Workers Union has filed a case at the industrial court in Pune on July 15, which challenges the termination of employees’ services, and sought a stay on the sale of the factory to Chinese SUV maker Great Wall Motors or any other party.
The company had already stopped production at the factory since December 2020 and had done an agreement to sell it to Great Wall. However, the deal had been stuck in part due to the labour issue at the local plant.
The court that held an urgent hearing on July 16 asked GM India to either give an undertaking of holding the sale or leasing of the plant till the next hearing or accept a stay order from the court.
GM India said that it told the court that it would not proceed on any transactions until August 3, 2021, when it would file a formal reply to the complaint.
The company said that it remained very confident of its legal position and has acted in accordance with the law and the Certified Standing Orders agreed between the union and the management.
Employee Union President, Sandeep Bhegade said to the media, “The Industrial Disputes Act was much more powerful than the standing order. The union believes the retrenchment act done by General Motors with employees is illegal as per the Industrial Disputes Act … and the union is fighting for the same in the industrial court,”
The company said, “Because we had announced the end of vehicle production at the site at the start of 2020, it has been fully transparent and clear about the company’s intention to shut operations and separate employees,”
“For the smooth separation, we have offered a generous separation package as Voluntary Separation Scheme and also extended the deadline,” it said the company.
GM India further explained and said, “We have terminated the services of the remaining employees because we don’t have any work for them.
The workers whose services were terminated were paid 15 days’ wages per year of service, one month notice period pay and other statutory and terminal benefits, it said the company.
