Maruti says strike at plant ends; Sept. sales down 21%

NEW DELHI (Reuters): Maruti Suzuki, India’s top car maker, said a month-long strike at one of its plants that cost the company about $135 million in lost output ended on Saturday, after workers agreed to sign discipline agreements.

Maruti, 54.2 per cent owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor , also said its vehicle sales in September fell about 21 per cent from a year earlier as the labour unrest disrupted production.

Workers at Maruti’s Manesar factory in the northern Haryana state walked out on Aug. 29 after the company demanded they sign a “good conduct bond”, saying some had engaged in sabotage.

The company said in a statement the strike had been resolved and the workers agreed to sign a “good conduct bond”. The striking workers will resume work on Oct. 3, the company said.

A Maruti spokesman said the company suffered a production loss of about 22,000 cars, or an estimated loss of 6.6 billion rupees ( $ 135 million), over the strike period.

In June, about 800 workers went on a 13-day strike at the plant, which makes cars including the popular Swift model, crippling production and leading to more than $90 million in lost output.

Maruti will not pay the striking workers for the period of the strike, it said, adding the 44 employees against whom it had taken disciplinary action would not be taken back.

Representatives of the workers were not available for comment.

The carmaker had said it would not compromise with the workers who were refusing to sign the discipline agreement, and was steadily hiring new employees.

Maruti and its rivals are battling a slowdown in car sales in Asia’s third-largest economy as higher interest rates and fuel costs hit demand, after record growth last fiscal year.