Toyota maintains its stand even as workers resist OEM’s demand to sign undertaking

As planned, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) lifted the lockout at its Bidadi plants today but the 4,200 workers belonging to the TKM Workers Union did not enter the plant premises. It is understood that TKM management wants the workers to sign an undertaking of good behaviour but the TKM Workers Union refuses to do that, citing that there is already a relationship between the management and the employees and there is no need to sign another undertaking.

Speaking to Autocar Professional, Prasanna Kumar, president of the TKM Workers Union, alleged that the company is allowing contract and unskilled labour to carry out production in the factory. At around 1.30pm, some representatives of the workers union were outside the Karnataka chief minister’s house to express their grievances. 

Despite the union members’ hesitance to sign an undertaking of good bvehaviour, the Japanese OEM maintains its stand that they do so. Toyota Kirloskar Motor says it will keep its shifts running and the plants ‘will be open for team members to join duty on the condition that they would sign the simple good conduct undertaking’. 

The company also says that it will ‘welcome any steps that the Government of Karnataka can take to resolve the matter at the earliest’.