Toyota lockout continues into fourth day

The conciliatory meeting presided by the labour department yesterday, on the conflict between Toyota and the labour union, hasn’t borne any fruit yet. The lockout continues for a fourth day in a row. 

"We hada meeting today, we have once again called the meeting tomorrow; talks are still in progress at this point," Additional Labour Commissioner J T Jinkalappa told PTI, after talks with the management and the union.

When asked about the progress in talks, he said, “We are discussing with both the parties, let'ssee what will happen tomorrow." 

More details emerged on the point of conflict, it is rumoured the union demanded a wage hike of Rs 4,000 whereas the management proposed a hike of Rs 3,050. 

"No results from the meeting today, we have asked for lifting of lockout but there has been no response from the management side so we have asked Labour department officials to prohibit the lockout," Toyota Kirloskar Workers Union (TKMEU) President Prasanna Kumar said.

However, TKMEU General Secretary R Satish said: "Management is still operating the plant with the help of about 700 to 800 contract labourers." 

The management and the labour union will meet again today to resolve the conflict. This is getting a little unpleasant as the production halt is never a good news for the company or workers. It seems both parties are sticking to their guns and coming to an amicable solution will take more than persuasion. We hope the lockout doesn’t continue too long as it puts the company, its employees and the customers in distress. 

Source: ET