Tata's Bus Plant at Dharwad Resumes Operations Following Wage Workers Strike

Tata is resuming operations in its Dharwad bus manufacturing plant in Karnataka, operated by the company's joint venture with Brazilian bus company Marcopolo.

“In view of the larger interest of all the company’s stakeholders, the management of Tata Marcopolo Motors has taken a pragmatic view of the situation and ‎decided to lift the lockout to resume operations shortly. The management is thankful to all key stakeholders, especially its employees, Tata Marcopolo Karmikara Sangha, neighbouring villages, social and political leaders, eminent personalities in the area,‎ the civil and police administration as well the labour and industries departments of the Karnataka government for all their efforts and overwhelming support. We strive to carry out peaceful business in a congenial environment maintaining highest standards of safety, discipline, productivity and quality to fulfil our commitment to well-being of all the stakeholders,” a spokesperson for the company had said in an email response to an online source.

The plant had been in a state of gridlock for an entire month over agitation by the employees. A prolonged strike had taken place, with a stand-off between the labour union and the management over wage issues. The matter had flared into a large scuffle that had reached the state's political spectrum as well. Eventually, dialogue was established between the demonstrating workers and the management, after which an agreement was reached to pacify the agitation.

The plant is pivotal in the manufacturing procedure of the JV, with the capacity to bring out 15,000 buses annually. Currently, the unit actively rolls out about a 100 buses of different categories on a monthly basis.