Maruti sacks 11 striking workers

India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd - hit by a workers' strike since Saturday evening at its Manesar factory — retrenched 11 people, mostly from an unrecognised trade union, on Monday.

The company claimed that these workers, members of the Maruti Suzuki Employees Union — formed just last Friday — were demanding recognition for the union from the company.

DL Sachdev, national secretary, AITUC, said, "Terminating the services of 11 workers is victimisation. They have to be reinstated now."

Elections for Maruti's own Maruti Udyog Kamgar Union are due next month, but a few workers told HT that they did not feel adequately represented in it.

"There is some talk of increasing the representation of the Manesar unit in the union and this can be worked out," Bhargava said. "I do not think this is such a complicated issue."