Labour issues are some of the hardest to fix in India due to an antiquated systems of laws written up in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. To get an idea of how bad labour issues can get, one only needs to look at:
- HR head at Maruti Suzuki plant burnt alive, Gurgaon
- Murder of CEO of Graziano in Noida, which was touted as a warning to management by the labour minister of India!
- Labour Troubles at Bajaj’s two wheeler plant for the last 8 months!
As a small manufacturing company owner, these issues give me the shivers. My years of education at some of the best schools in the country and in the US does not prepare me at all to deal with the harsh realities of the manufacturing sector in India. The Industrial Disputes Act really forces the hand of the business owner and leads to rampant corruption and under reporting of labour employed all around India. This leads even greater exploitation of labour, which is quite ironic but expected unintended consequence.
It’s one of those public policy issues that will probably never get addressed as its politically sensitive. Can’t say much more.
–Anubhav