Labour strike at Honda over

Two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India on Thursday said that the labour strike at its unit as the company has reached a broad understanding with the workers.

In a statement, HMSI said that the 'ongoing negotiations with the labour union have progressed well. It is a very positive development in favour of all HMSI customers, stakeholders as well as the industry. The long-term wage settlement (LTS) process has been concluded'.

The long-term wage settlement was signed late on Wednesday by the management and the workers' union in the presence of labour department officials.

Honda will be able to clear the order backlog of 1.4 lakh (140,000) units within 2-3-months once the labour strike at its facility at Manesar is settled.

The labour unions started a 'go slow' strike in HMSI's plant after the expiry of the agreement with the management signed in September 2006.Due to the stir, the company had lost around Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion), HMSI General Manager, Sales & Marketing, Naresh Kumar Rattan, said.

Meanwhile, HMSI has raised its production capacity to 15 lakh units per year with the recent inauguration of its third assembly line.

The development is expected to be a trendsetter for the entire industrial belt. With the third assembly line becoming fully operational and workers contributing their regular 8 hours work, the daily production is progressing to normal level.

HMSI is now in full gear to achieve the production targets set for the current financial year, the statement said. This will reduce the waiting period of Honda products and help the company to serve the customers in the best possible manner.

Honda said that the cooperation of government bodies and stakeholders has made this resolution possible.